bruised but not broken
by Alene Deirbre
Summary: Li and meiling are back from HK, but something about them has changed. Meiling is pregnant, but is Shaolan the father? this fic contains rape abuse and other unpleasant stuff. S+S Y+T, and possibly E+T paring. read inside for a little better summary. thi
1. Memories within Dreams

A/N: okay this story has been in my mind for a little while, so I've decided to give it a shot 

A/N: okay this story has been in my mind for a little while, so I've decided to give it a shot. This is a very dark and angst filled fic. It contains rape (not graphic), suicide, gore, and some yaoi and yuri so if you are offended by any of this please leave now. Also all the characters play a pretty good role in this story, and there will be many different couples and slight hints of a few couples.

I don't know much about Chinese or Japanese cultures, okay I don't know anything about Chinese and Japanese culture, so please bear with me.

A/N2: okay last thing this will be an S+S and probably E+T so if you have a problem with these couples then, stay anyway because it's not a romance fic so there probably wont be much of um… well romance.

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura, so don't sue.

The room was dark and very cold; the way the wind crept through the cracks in the walls made it seem as though the room itself was breathing. Tapestries with ancient symbols hung proudly from the walls and ceiling. Candles where the only source of light. The little flames danced upon the wicks of these candles casting shadows across the already eerie room. At the end of the room was a stage which stood two feet off the ground and on this stage sat many people.

The people on the stage could not be recognized because their faces were hidden in shadow. They all wore ceremonial robes, which indicated the seriousness of the meeting. One of these people broke the silence that had settled on the room, his voice was cold like the wind that still crept into the room.

"You have betrayed us, but what can we expect from someone who was too weak to take the cards from a little flower." The words wore directed to a young boy in the middle of the room. The boy wore a green ceremonial robe.

"I was never meant to be the card master. You cannot force me to take on a destiny that Clow Reed had already chosen for Sakura." the boys voice was surprisingly calm and held wisdom far beyond his years.

"And now you will betray us again, by choosing to leave us." The same voice replied with little emotion.

The boy looked down at the floor then shifted his gaze back in the direction of the voice. His eyes showed the anger and betrayal that he felt from those words. 

"I did nothing to betray you, it is you who have betrayed me. You taught me purity and honor and now you refuse to acknowledge what wrong has been done. I refuse to follow a family that turns their backs on one of their own, and then refuses to bring justice to the one that has done the real crime!" the boy's voice rose almost to the point of yelling. 

The boy could tell that he had angered the man greatly, but he refused to drop this case. The shadows sifted as the man raised his hand in a commanding way. Suddenly to figures clothed in darkness appeared behind the boy and seized both of his arms forcing him to the ground and rendering him helpless.

"You will pay for you compassion." The voice answered sternly.

The two that healed the boy lifted him up and chained his wrist in shackles that hung from the ceiling. The shackles were gagged and they cut into the boy's wrist causing small trails of blood to flow down his arm and sprinkle the ground. 

Another figure emerged from the shadows, but unlike the two that had come before it, this one's face was distinct and not hidden by shadow.

The boy gasped when he saw the third figure. "Mother." He whispered quietly. 

The woman in front of him only looked at the boy with disgust in her eyes. She lifted her hand up and it began to glow scarlet like her eyes. The glow soon turned into the shape of a whip. The women slowly approached the boy and leaned down so that she might look him in the eyes. A stern look crossed her face, and was the replaced with a look of pure hatred. "Never call me that again." The women hissed and then went behind the boy.

The boy looked up to the figure that still sat in shadow on the stage. "Your honor is a lie." The boy said simply and then cringed as the whip hit his back, tearing his flesh open. The pain was an immediately reality as a deep crimson fluid began to seep from the womb. The boy barely had time to think before the whip came down again.

"Ah!" Shaolon woke from his troubling dream. The memories began to play over and over again in his mind. Life for him had changed so quickly and in such a short amount of time. He went from being the heir to the most powerful clan in China, to a run away teen living in a little apartment with barley enough money to support himself, let alone another. He looked over at the young teen-aged girl sleeping next to him. Her pale skin looked unusual on one who uses to have a dark and perfect tan. Her long, black her covered part of her delicate face. Delicate yet disturbed, that would be the best way to describe Meiling now. Her life had changed as much as his, possibly even more. 

"Shalon?" Meiling's voice came out as barely a whisper.

"Yes?" came the soft reply

Meiling sat up slowly and looked at her companion. "You should get to sleep. Tomorrow is our first day of school and you want to look your best when you see Sakura, don't you?" a slight smile pulled at Meiling's lips as she watched Li's face turn bright red at the mention of the young Card Mistress' name.

Li nodded slowly and smiled. "Yeah, you're right."

Meiling laid back down and pulled the thin covers around herself, trying to escape the cold that seemed to always linger in their new apartment. "Boy won't she be surprised to see us." She whispered before falling back into a dreamless sleep.

"Yeah she'll definitely be surprised." Li answered back before lying down, and trying to fall back to sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: I know it is very short, but I just wanted to see how the story goes. I'm not going to continue it if it doesn't get reviews, because I am very busy and I don't want to waste my time writing this if no is going to read it so please R&R. tell me what I did good and what I did bad, but please do not flame my spelling, because I already know I have no talent there.


	2. Welcomes and Suspicions

A/N: first of all thanx to everyone who reviewed the first chapter. Second this chapter is very slow, and is mostly conversations, (which is something I don't write very well). This chapter is a little more cheery then the first chapter (probably because of Sakura) so there is really any angst in this part.

Disclaimer: I do not own CCS.

"RINGGGGGGG!" the sound of an alarm clock woke Kero out of his blessed dreams of pancakes and pudding. Then there was a sound of something hitting the wall hard followed by silence. Kero got up from his little bed in his mistress drawer and looked around the room to see what had caused the loud thump on the wall.

"Uh…. Sakura, why is your alarm clocking lying in pieces on the floor?" Kero asked the young teen-ager snuggled under her blankets.

"Oh, I couldn't find the off button." Came the muffled reply.

Kero sweatdrop. "Well you got to get up you have school in less then half an hour." Kero pulled the covers off Sakura causing her to curl up into a ball for warmth. "Come on now you got to get ready for school." 

Sakura just moaned and turned over to her other side. Kero got an annoyed looked which was followed by a determined one, which was quickly replaced with an evil smile. He flew over to the sleeping girl and got right up to her ear and then whispered. "Hey Sakura that Li kid is here."

At that Sakura immediately jumped out of bed and began looking around. "Where is he down stairs?"

Sakura stopped her panicking when she heard Kero laughing. "You should have seen the look on your face." Kero laughed some more this time a little quieter. "I knew that would get you out of bed." Kero's laughter was suddenly interrupted by the door opening.

"Good morning squirt." Touya, Sakura's older brother, greeted. Sakura was too busy glaring at Kero, who was too busy laughing to really care about him there.

Touya looked around a bit then looked back at his sister and her guardian. "Uh, Sakura why is your alarm clock smashed against the wall?"

"She couldn't find the off button." Kero answered for her with a huge grin on his face.

Touya sighed then looked back to Sakura. "Well hurry up and get ready I'm leaving in five." Touya walked out the room and shut the door behind him.

Sakura gave up glaring at Kero and started getting ready.

*********************************************

"Good morning Sakura." Tomoyo Daidouji, Sakura's best friend, greeted.

"Morning Tomoyo." Sakura smiled back.

"Guess who is back in town." 

"Who?" Sakura asked with curiosity.

Tomoyo was about to answer her when she got cut off. "Good morning ladies, and how have the two of you been." A calm and low voice asked the two friends from behind.

"Elriol?" Sakura asked confused. "What are you doing here? You only left from your last visit a month ago." 

"I know. That is why I asked Mr. Terada not to introduce me in front of the class again. I just didn't really feel that it was necessary." Eriol answered while giving the two friends his famous "innocent" smile.

"Oh." Was the only response that Sakura could come up with. "Hey, don't you think it's weird that Mr. Terada has been our teacher since the fourth grade." Sakura questioned trying to change the subject.

"Well you can guess that Rika has something to do with that." Tomoyo said.

"All right class take your sits." Mr. Terada commanded as he entered the classroom. "Well in case you haven't noticed Eriol Hiiragizawa is back from England and will be attending this class again. But we also have two other exchange students joining us." Mr. Terada turned his attention to the board and began writing down two names. While he was doing this, the class began to whisper amongst themselves about what they believed their new classmates would be like. Mr. Terada turned back to the class just as the door opened and to figures walked in. "Please welcome Syaoran Li and Meiling Li. They where here a couple of years ago and now we are pleased that they will be joining us again."

'I can't believe it Syaoran and Meiling are back. This is so great, I wonder why they didn't call to tell they were coming back.' Sakura thought to herself. 'They both look so different. So much older and almost a bit sad.'

Sakura's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Mr. Terada's voice. "Now let us see, where shall we seat you two." Mr. Terada thought out loud as he looked around at the many desks, for two unoccupied ones. "Ah, Meiling you sit next to Tomoyo, and Syaoran you sit behind Sakura."

Meiling walked to her seat without a word and sat down. She then began to get her books and utensils situated. Li began to walk to his seat but stopped by Sakura's desk and smiled at her slightly. "It's good to see you again." He said simply before setting himself and preparing for the lesson.

***********************************************

"It's so great that both of you are back. Now the whole gang is back together." Tomoyo said with a smile. School had just been let out and the group was walking together.

"Yeah now we can do all kinds of high school stuff together, like going to parties, study groups, concerts, and all kinds of stuff it will be so much fun!" Sakura said with enthusiasm. 

Li and Meiling both smiled but neither of them said anything.

Eriol watched his young descendant closely. 'Something isn't right. Li's aurora seems different and young Meiling has changed as well. Something must have happened to them in Hong Kong.' Eriol thought to himself while he continued to watch the two.

Li could sense Eriol's eyes open him and was begging to become uneasy. "You all sound like you've been doing very well." Li stated.

"And what about you my cute descendant how have the two of you been?" Eriol asked looking at Li questionably.

Li hesitated for a moment then answered. "We've both been well." He said a little shakily.

"Really, that is good. Tell me why didn't you inform anyone of your arrival, that's not really like you." Eriol said still staring at Li.

Meiling sensed Li's uneasiness at this question and decided to answer it for him. "We wanted to surprise you guys." She said with a little smile.

"Well you certainly surprised me." Sakura said laughing a little. "I still can't believe you're all here. This is soooo great!" Sakura said as she danced around. "I know why don't all of you come over for a little while." Sakura suggested.

"That is a tempting offer but we have to pass. I still have some unpacking to do, but you are welcome to go if you want Meiling." Li said looking towards his cousin.

Meiling shook her head. "I'm feeling kind of tiered, I'm going to go back home and get some rest." 

"Well maybe you guys can come over some other time. We really need to catch up. I wanted to hear everything about Hong Kong." Li and Meiling both seemed to wince at the last statement, but Sakura didn't notice.

Li gained his composure first. "Yeah well we really need to go now. It was good seeing all of you." He and Meiling said their good byes and left the group to head to their new apartment.

"Did they both seem a little paranoid or was that just me?" Tomoyo asked the two reaming.

"Yes they are defiantly hiding something." Eriol concluded.

"Huh? Well they seemed fine to me, they were probably both still tiered from the move." Sakura said allowing the other two to see just how naïve and innocent she can be.

As the threesome parted ways Eriol swore to himself that he would get to the bottom of what was going on, one way or another.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Well how was it? I know it was still a little short, but oh well at least I got it done. And I through in some S+S hints, and there will be E+T later on. Well, comments question or flames, please review.


	3. Secrets bring Sorrow

A/N: I guess my second chapter didn't go over very well because of lack of reviews, but I'm still going to see how this chapter does. The second chapter was pretty boring. Anyway thanks to the people that did review the second chapter.

This chapter has more angst, lots more. Also a pretty bad flash back, so be ware. Also for future reference this is my first CCS fic so if I get names or technical stuff wrong it's because of my lack of knowledge on the show.

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

Meiling sat in the small apartment alone. In the apartment above there was a baby crying. She could not tell what the tears where for, maybe the poor thing was cold, or in need of food, or perhaps it just starved for attention and love from its mother. Whatever the reason it's tears brought tears to her eyes. In the apartment next door she could hear a couple arguing. The young women would scream defiantly and the young man would yell back at her with harsh words. Finally their voices died at the sound of a hard slap followed by the sound of more tears.

Was that all this world was tears, pain. That is all she had found, pain. Sometimes sweet and welcoming, sometimes brutal and forceful. 

She was jerked from her thoughts by the sound of the next door neighbor's apartment door slamming. She got up from her seat and walk into the small bedroom of the apartment. The whole apartment was small, but the room itself could only hold a bed and still had very little walking space. She laid down on the old bed slowly. The mattress was lumpy and made noise anytime she switched positions do to broken springs. Li had worked very hard to get this one bed, so that she would no longer have to sleep on the floor. The bed was a great improvement over the floor, it was warmer and it made it easier for her to breathe. 

Li still slept on a little pallet on the, would be, living room floor. They had spent the first couple of nights huddled together on the cold ground, until finally he found a job and thus bought this bed.

He had done so much for her; he gave up so much to help her that she still felt unworthy of his friendship.

~*~

Meiling held the small dagger with, Chinese writing on it, tightly in her hand. The moon's sliver light glimmered off the blade and she could see glimpses of her own image reflecting off the blade in the moonlight. 

Her body shook violently and uncontrollably. She shivered as the cool breeze blow through her long black hair. Her long delicate fingers traced the edges of the blade. Her thoughts began to run and circle around her head, much like the world that her eyes saw as spinning. All the events of that evening came flooding back and she whimpered trying to hold back the sobs that so desperately wanted to come out. She would not cry, over this. She was strong and refused to give in to her own broken heart. 

No one would want her now. She could not go home, they wouldn't help her, only push her away. She had no chose in order to save her own honor, and to spare herself more pain she must do it. She griped the dagger in her right hand, until her knuckles turned white from her firm hold. She then looked down at her left wrist. The dark flawless skin was now much paler. Her hand shook even more as she lowered her the blade to the point where it's sharp edges rested on her pale wrist. 

She then hesitated, she wasn't sure if she had a right to end it all. She had responsibilities and she now carried life for two, what right did she have to take the innocent child's life before it even began. Then her thoughts turned back to the night that it all began. The pain both physically and emotionally returned in a great rush, overwhelming her in sorrow. What if the child grew to be like that monster? What right did see have to bring such evil into the world? She had decided the child and herself could be happy in the world beyond, anything would be better than this life.

She began to apply pressure to the knife; slowly she began to drag it down her wrist, cutting deeper as she moved it. The blood instantly began to flow out of her cut. She began to fell weak as her life began to pour out of her. She fell to the grown and felt weariness sweep into her. Her eyes soon shut to and the world began to fade.

"I'm home." Came a call from the living area of the apartment.

Meiling forced herself off the bed and walked into the other room. "How was work?" she asked sounding very tiered.

"The same." Li answered back. "How have you been?" he asked looking at her with concern.

Meiling sat down in one of the two old chairs that sat at their small table. She looked around their 'home' in disgust. Right when you walk in you enter the kitchen and then there was a table flowed by a small corner with a cot, where Li now sleeps alone. By the corner was the door to her room and inside the room was the door to the bathroom. 

Li followed Meiling's gaze for a moment then went to sit across from her. "Hey, things will get better. We just have to give it some time." He said softly.

"I know, but it seems unfair, you going through all of this to help me." She said whimpering slightly.

"Meiling, I'm not just doing this for you. I couldn't stay there any longer, especially knowing all that they are doing." He said sternly. "I had no place there, and besides know one should have to go throw this alone."

"Oh Syaoran" Meiling answered tears forming in her eyes. "But how can we keep this up? How can you keep this up? Between school and work and taking care of me, you barley have time to breath. Maybe I should find a job, and try to help with the bills." She said in hope that he would consider.

"Meiling we've already talked about this, you are ill way too often to hold a job." He replied.

"But maybe there is something I could do, like a paper rout or something." She argued back. To her it seemed unfair that he should do everything while she spent the day sleeping.

"Meiling, please drop this subject. I don't want your health to suffer, and a job would certainly cause it to do so. Now please I need to finish my homework, and you need to go to bed." Li answered as he stood from his seat and walked over to retrieve his backpack from the kitchen counter.

Meiling only nodded and then rose from her seat, and walked to her room shutting the door behind her.

~*~

"Is it just me or has Meiling been sick a lot since they've gotten back." Tomoyo asked her companions.

"Yeah, maybe she has the fuel or something." Sakura said kind of dazzlingly.

"It seems more like mourning sickness to me." Eriol said from his seat across from the two girls.

Sakura laughed loudly at Eriol assumption. "Yeah right the only way she could have mourning sickness is if she is pregnant." 

"Don't you think it's kind of odd Sakura that they both just showed up one day, and they don't seem to be as well financially as before. Also Syaoran has been very protective over Meiling, I think something very serious happened to them in Hong Kong." Eriol said thoughtfully.

"Yeah but pregnant how is that possible, and even if it is why would she and Syaoran be back because of it?" Sakura argued.

"Maybe Syaoran is the father and their family disowned them because of it." Tomoyo said to herself.

"What?!" Sakura shouted in shock then quieted. "What do you mean Syaoran is the father? There is no way he can be the father because Meiling isn't pregnant."

"Would you like to join us or are you just going to hide in the shadows all day." Eriol's question was not directed to the to girls across from him.

"You were having such a deep conversation, I hated to interrupt." Said a soft voice from the shadows under a large tree. Slowly a figure walked out from the cool shadows.

"Syaoran, I didn't know you were there. Come it with us." Called Sakura from her seat.

Li walked over to the group and sat with them. 

"Syaoran I suppose you over heard us." Eriol said watching his decedent's every move. Li nodded in reply. "Well then perhaps you can clear some stuff up for us." Eriol paused still eyeing Li closely. "What happened in Hong Kong? And is Meiling with child?" Eriol asked in a voice that demanded an answer.

Li looked at him coldly. "I really don't think that, that is any of your concern." He said coldly while he stood from him seat.

"Then it is true." Eriol said with triumph. "Meiling is pregnant, but the question still remain, are you the father?" 

Li looked at him with shock, could the reincarnated Clow she through him so easily. "I didn't say she was pregnant, and even if she is it's not any of your business." Li returned trying to control the waver in his voice.

"Syaoran, don't lie to me. I'm not the fool you take me for. I know a great deal about the costumes in your clan and I know they would not send their heir away with so little. Also Meiling is going through mourning sickness, I know the difference between that and the flue." He stated strongly. "Is Meiling pregnant?" he demanded.

Li looked down afraid that Eriol would see right through him and know all his secrets. "She is." he answered slowly.

"Why did you keep it a secret?" Tomoyo asked with astonishment. 

Sakura's head was spinning. Meiling is pregnant and Li was here taking care of her, but why didn't he tell them sooner, unless… "Syaoran I can't believe you. You are the father aren't you. If you weren't then you would have told us sooner." She accused.

Li was taken back by Sakura's outburst, and he found it difficult to answer. "Sakura…"

Sakura cut him off before he could finish. "Save it. I can't believe you would betray me like this!" she yelled tears forming in her eyes. "I waited for you and this is how you repay me. You could of at lest had the decency to tell me sooner!" She shout anger and hurt filled her head. "I hate you! Don't ever speak to me again!" She shouted and then ran away. 

"Sakura wait!" Li shouted after but was stopped by Tomoyo.

"Let her go Syaoran, and leave us all alone." She said simply. She wasn't sure if Li was the father or not, but keeping this a secret hurt Sakura, and when Sakura is hurt she is as well. 

Tomoyo left the table leaving behind a very distressed Syaoran and a very guilty Eriol. "Sorry, that didn't go as I meant it to." Eriol said sincerely.

"I know." Li answered as he walked off. Leaving Eriol to his thoughts.

You've changed a lot Syaoran. I don't know what they did to you, but it's almost as if they've taken your will to fight, or maybe you've learned that fighting brings little good. Whatever it is I hope that we can help you through it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I guess most of the characters are OOC, but time has gone by since the series and this fic so they've grown a little. Don't worry Sakura and Syaoran will work things out, I think. Anyway Sakura will be playing a hard roll towards the end. Well please review. If this chapter doesn't get enough reviews then I'm probably going to stop this fic. I've been swamped with stuff so if no one reads this then I guess I won't write it. I need very honest reviews tell me what is good and what I need to improve on. Well enough of my rambling.


	4. So is life...

A/N: first of all I would like to apologize for the lateness of this chapter. I have been completely swamped with school, work, and other activities. Okay now for all of you that are wondering where the S+S and E+T shows up, don't worry it is coming. Also thank you all who reviewed, your reviews make me so happy. Okay now on with the show.

Disclaimer: I do **NOT** own CCS.

Li slammed the door after he entered his apartment. He felt absolutely horrible. Sakura's words tore at his heart and made him want to sink into the ground and be forgotten forever. Everything about his life had fallen apart; everything he thought was certain seemed to be nothing but a lie. The ones he had trusted pushed him away and left him cold and bleeding. They were monsters, leeches that sucked the life from you and left you to die. 

__

"How could you just stand by knowing that this was going on!" Li's voice was full of malice.

"My son you mustn't concern yourself with these things. You have far more important matters to deal with, such as training to become our next leader." A passive voice answered.

"Your leader? I will never lead you. All my life you have taught me about honor, well where is your honor now!" 

"Do not anger the elders more Syaoran, they are already displeased with your behavior. Just forget what has happened before it is too late." Yelan Li sternly commanded.

Li diverted his eyes to the ground, taking in all his mother had told him. Yelan was convinced that her son's willfulness had been stubbed out by fear, and was about to leave him when his eyes rose to meet hers. She was surprised to see anger and resent rising in his intense gaze.

"I will not forget." Li said strongly. "And neither will history when I'm done." Li threatened and then walked away leaving his mother in shock and fear.

"Did you have a bad day at school?" Li broke out of his trance to meet a pair of concern ruby eyes.

"No everything is fine." He answered while pulling himself off the cold kitchen floor.

"Please tell me what happened." Meiling begged.

Li looked doubtful, but he knew that Meiling had a right to know. "The others have discovered that you are with child." He said slowly. Meiling only hung her head as her mind tried to fill in what might have happened during the others conversation. "Sakura is angry with me, and so is Tomoyo." He explained.

"This is all my fault, I have ruined your relationship with Sakura." Tears began to form in Meiling's eyes, and she didn't try to hold them back. Her thoughts of guilt were interrupted when Li laid his warm hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry Sakura and I will work things out, in the mean time I have to go to work. Will you be all right here alone?" Li asked as he peered at the girl before him.

Meiling nodded her head yes and with that Li grab his coat and headed out the door for work.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Hey China boy the men's restroom needs a good scrubbing, go take care of it while I handle the customers." A stout man with little hair and greasy clothes commanded Li.

"Yes sir." Li answered with little enthusiasm. He hated being called 'China boy', and he hated his boss even more. The man was rude and very inconsiderate. He forced Li to work late into the night and barely paid him minimum wage. Li would have quite the job after the first day of having to work past one in the morning, but unfortunately this was the only source of income he and Meiling had. So he had no choose but to work for the grumpy cook.

After about an hour of scrubbing the restroom was clean and sterol. As Li was rising from his the restroom floor he felt an overwhelming feeling of fatigue and nausea. 

'Meiling was right I can't keep this up much longer. As if school isn't bad enough with the homework and studying, but work is really taking it out of me. And now Sakura hates me. I knew coming back here was a bad idea, but it's not like we had anywhere else to go. This was the only place that I ever truly felt happy, and now it feels like hell. 

"Hey China boy get in here!" the stout cook yelled.

Li stepped away from the sink that he had been leaning on for support and headed into the diner. "Yes?" Li asked while yawning.

"I got to take off early so you need to whitish the diner and close up. You have the routine down by now of course." The cook instructed as he hung up his apron and headed for the door, before he left he turned around and shouted for Li to remember to scrub the floors then exited the diner.

Li looked around the diner then shook his head to clear his thoughts. This was the third time that he was left to work after his schedule hours, and of course he gets paid the same amount. This was crazy he was only sixteen and was already working his life away. Things couldn't keep up this way, sure he is strong, but this was just too much. He only got an average of four hours of sleep at night, and that didn't include all the times he would wake up in a cold sweat from his nightmares, or when he would have to stay up all night to watch over Meiling. He needed a brake; he just needed to rest.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Eriol walked on the streets alone. The whether was rather cool, but he didn't mind it was an improvement over the hot humid whether they had been having the past couple of days.

Many different thoughts circled his head, some about school others about spells and incantations, but the main thing on his mind was his young descendants. He didn't know much about the Meiling girl, after all they only meet on a few occasions, and barely spoke two words to one another. He knew she was one of the few Cow descendants which didn't have magical powers, he also knew she was a strong and willful girl, but that was about it.

Li on the other hand, well he knew a great deal about Li at least more then he knew about the girl, but even with the time he has spent with the young man he still remained a mystery. He was so strong a very mature for his age. At times he would acted discipline and focused like the worrier he was, and then there would be times when the front would fade away and he would be just another child young and innocent. It is a shame that his 'family' has destroyed that innocents forever.

Eriol's mussing was interrupted by the sound of his stomach rumbling. He hadn't eaten since lunch and the feeling of hunger was just starting to hit him with full strength. He wasn't ready to go home, Suppii and Nakuru where probably still arguing for control over the television remote, and he just wanted some peace and quiet. He looked around the street he had been walking on not much was there, just a few shops selling various items, of course they were all closed now. He looked at his whitish, eleven twenty-three. 

"When did it get so late. I must have been walking for hours." He said out loud. He was about to turn around and head back home when he noticed a small diner on the corner of the road he was on. Normally he wouldn't even consider eating at one of those places, but his stomach was getting the better of him not to mention the wind had picked up and was blowing very hard now. So he took a deep breath and headed in the direction of the diner.

Li studied the floor beneath him. It was old tile with pieces chipped off and stains in many different places. He had just finished placing all the chairs upside down on the tables and was about to begin scrubbing them when another dizzy spell swept up on him. The whole diner seemed to increase in tempter and he began to see little stars everywhere. He leaned against the counter blinking a few times. His eyes finally readjusted but the tempter didn't seem to go down any.

After he was sure that there would be no more dizzy spells, he got on the ground, took his scrubber and began to clean the filthy floor. He didn't know why they stayed open so late. No one comes out to eat this late and only a fool would be out on a night like this. Li was jerked out of his thoughts by the sound of the diner door opening.

Li looked up to greet the customer and was very unsettled to see Eriol standing in the entrance with a confused look.

"Li what on earth are you doing here?" Eriol asked with shock and curiosity.

Li got off the ground and whipped his wet hands on his apron. Then after carefully making up his story he answered.   
"Um… well I work here. It's part of my training." He said hopping that the reincarnated magician would buy it.

Eriol looked Li over his face passive but his eyes showed worry. 'He looks horrible the dark circles on his eyes are even more noticeable and he looks half starved.' Eriol finally broke the silence after studding the teen closely. "I believe that you work here Li, but I know you are lying about it being part of your training." He said sternly.

Li looked down at the ground as if he wore ashamed. When Eriol saw that Li wasn't going to speak he decided to continue. "Li enough of this just tell us what is going on what happened in Hong Kong?" he begged.

Li didn't answer, but his eyes seemed to glaze over as if he were reliving a nightmare, then they quickly returned to their normal state. "What would you like to order?" he asked as he walked behind the counter.

Eriol just shook his head in defeat. "I have lost my appetite. It is getting late why don't you go home?" 

Li looked at him a slight bit of annoyance shone in his eyes. "I have to finish cleaning the floors." He stated simply.

Eriol stared at him for a moment then closed his eyes. His faced relaxed as his hand began to glow a deep red. He waved his hand and the floor was completely clean, even the stains where gone. He opened his eyes and looked at the shocked Li for a moment then walked out the door leaving behind the small diner and a very distressed Li.

Li stared at the spotless floor, then ran a shaky hand through his unfixed hair. He probably could have done that himself if he still used magic. Sorcery was one thing he would like to forget altogether. Sorcery was something _they_ had taught him, and he wanted nothing more than to forget everything to do with them.

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Well how was that part. Please review and tell me what I need improvements on. I hope to have the next part out much sooner than it took to get this one out. Also no S+S in this one but it will be here eventually. Well please review, reviews make me so happy.


	5. Promises, Enigmas

A/N: well this part will be a little weird so please bare with me. Also this chapter has hints of Eriol and Kaho couple, but don't worry all you E+T fans they will hook up somewhere in this story. Also for all you S+S fans, their moment is coming soon. Okay on with the show.

Disclaimer: I do **not** own CCS.

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"Please go away! Just leave me alone I beg of you." Meiling pleaded with the cruel voices.

"You can't escape us worthless child." One sneered.

"Some decadent of Clow Reed you are, you don't even have magical powers." Another laughed.

"You're weak, and useless. You are lucky we haven't exterminated your pathetic life, but don't worry that baby inside you will prove to be punishment enough." The final voice frightened her more then the other two; it was a voice she knew all to well.

All the radical she had endured came back with a new fear attached. Her child would grow to be a monster, a demon disguise as an innocent baby. This was more then she could take, why won't the voices just leave her in peace, why do they keep taunting me. Haven't I suffered enough?

"Meiling." A soft and gentle voice broke through the haunting memories. "Meiling." The voice called again.

"Who are you?" Meiling whimpered.

"Don't be frighten child, I am not here to harm you. I want to help you." The voice replied with the same gentle tone.

"Help me?" Meiling asked confused. She was no longer frighten the voice was so soothing that she felt an extreme sense of comfort in it's presents.

"I know what troubles you, you are afraid that the child you bare will grow into evil just as the elders of your clan said it would, but do not be frighten by their words. They are the ones who are truly afraid. The time of the Li Clan is drawing to an end. The child you carry will be a strong key in the end of dark magic." The voice explained.

"Who are you?" Meiling asked again while stepping close to the sound of the voice.

Suddenly a figure stepped out of the shadows and all the darkness surrounding them was lit up by thousands of beautiful stars.

"Huh…Clow Reed!" Meiling gasped. She didn't understand how she knew it was him, she just knew. 

Clow smiled at Meiling kindly. "You have grown to be very strong young one but you still have much growing to do. I have come to you to tell you not to fear your child. He will have strong magical powers, they will be pure and will give strength to the two chosen ones."

"I don't understand." Meiling confessed. "What do you mean my child will have strong magic? How is that possible when I have no magic? And what did you mean by the Li Clan's time is drawing to an end?" Meiling sounded like a little child-asking question after question, wishing to understand a world she knew so little about.

Clow did not seem to mind Meiling's question; he merely smiled and then prepared to answer. "There is no other way to explain it. You shall have a son and he will be a powerful magician. His power will be given to the two chosen to put an end to the last practitioner of dark magic, my descendants the LI Clan." Clow stated as he began to fade away.

"But wait I still don't understand!" Meiling called after him.

"Don't worry child you will understand when the time comes." Meiling heard Clow's voice answer before the stars faded and everything went black once again.

"What a weird dream." Meiling said to herself as she sat up in her bed. She looked over at her small digital clock, the numbers read seven thirteen p.m. Syrian should be getting off work soon, his boss promised to let him leave early so he could spend some of his weekend on homework.

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The wind blew lightly through trees rustling there leafs and branches. The air was cooling as the sun began to set; the remaining rays of light painted the usually dry sky with beautiful pinks, oranges, and purples. 

Li smiled as he gazed upon the sky and the retreating sun. No matter how much pain there was in the world nature still knew how to cast beauty upon it. One thing that always gave Li joy was the sunset, all the colors and mysteries behind the great orange orb.

Li's thoughts returned to the task of walking when he hit a misplaced stone and stumbled a few feet nearly dropping the grocery bags he held in both hands. He shook his hand in disbelieve, 'Even after all these years I still hadn't grown out of my clumsiness. I still seemed to always have my head in the clouds.' He sighed in frustration. 'I Need to learn to be more focused. I have a lot more responsibilities now, I can't keep spacing out like this.' 

Li immediately snapped to attention when he heard a sound near by that seemed to be a cross from a scream and a whimper. He continued to walk further into Penguin Park while looking around to see who could have made the sound. His eyes widened when he saw a teen-aged boy with indigo hair sitting beside the small water fountain with his face buried in his hands.

Li was unsure if he should approach the boy or just keep walking. Why should he care about Eriol, after all it's not like they were really friends, the only reason they really associated with each other was because of their connection with Clow magic.

Eriol sighed as he lifted his head up and began to star at the ground in front of him. Li knew that Eriol had sensed his presents, after all he was the reincarnation of the most powerful magician to ever life, he probably sensed Li approaching before he ever entered the park. After a moment Li decided to speak with the distressed sorcerer.

"Eriol is everything all right?" he asked as he walked over to the slumped form by the fountain.

Eriol didn't look up or even acknowledge Li's presents. 

Li steeped a few feet closer to him and tried again. "Eriol?"

This time Eriol responded with by shaking his head then he spoke. "No everything is not all right, but I suppose it doesn't matter. Heart ache is just a part of life, wouldn't you agree." Eriol voice sounded so empty, the only emotion that seemed to lie it was malice. "You should continue home, or your groceries will begging to spoil." Eriol stated still not looking at the brown hair boy.

Li shook his head in confusion, why was Eriol acting so strange? He never struck Li as the type to get so depressed and angry. Li set down his bag of groceries on the sidewalk then he moved over to where Eriol was sitting and sat down next to him. He didn't speak he just sat there staring at the ground just like the other teen.

Eriol had to admit he wasn't expecting this kind of reaction from his young decadent. He wanted to ask what Li was doing, but he decided to remain silent for a few moments longer. He didn't want to ruin a moment, he never had a moment where Li was there just to listen to him, and it felt nice to hold the boy's interest. Out of all his descendants Li was the only one that he ever had a desire to know, he was an enigma, his aura was so warm and welcoming, yet he tried to act of cold and distant. "Li you should go it is getting late." Eriol said sadly, as he hated to send the boy away.

"You don't own the park Eriol, I can sit here as long as I want, and besides it's not that late." Li argued.

Eriol chuckled slightly at Li's remark. "You're right." He said simply as he returned his eyes to the cement.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Li broke it in a quiet voice. "I don't know why you're sad Eriol, but I am sorry for whatever the reason is." 

Eriol turned his head sharply to where Li sat staring at the night sky. Out of all the things for Li to say this was not something Eriol had expected. Li turned his gaze to meet Eriol's. Concern and sympathy singed brightly in his auburn eyes.

Eriol could no long hold his gaze upon the young teen. "Sad…" He whispered as he turned to look at the sky. The crescent moon glowed in rays of silver and the stars twinkled like diamonds in a stream of deep blues. "Sad, I'm not so sure if that is the right word. There is so much going on, so many changes, I guess I just wasn't ready for this one." He stated heavily.

Li looked confused, but he still listened closely. Eriol could sense his confusion and so he decided to explain, he wasn't sure why he was telling Li this. It wasn't any of his business, maybe it was just that he needed to tell someone and for some reason he knew he could trust Li to keep it to himself.

"Kaho wrote to my and told me that it is time to put our relationship to an end. She said we have gone in such separate directions that we should just break it off before one of us gets hurt." Eriol stood up and paced a few steppes. Li also stood but he merrily watched the other boy, and did not move from where he stood. "Could she not realize that I am hurt. She was my first love and now I have none." His last words were shaky and full of despair.

Li looked shocked by the honesty of the other teen, but he quickly regained his composure, then he walked over to the other boy and laid a hand on his shoulder offering his support. "I can't say that you will ever find someone you that you can feel the same way for as you did Kaho, after all there is no one like your first love. But it doesn't mean you are alone, you have your guardians, and Sakura and Tomoyo, and you have me." 

Li's last words circled around Eriol's head as he tried to register them. Li consider hi his friend, he wasn't alone he did have the others. Li interrupted Eriol's thoughts as he took his hand from his shoulder and walk back over to the groceries he had been carrying. "It is getting late, we should both beheading home." Li stated with a smile. "I will see you in class tomorrow." He said as he headed to the exit of the park.

Eriol smiled he watched the young teen's retreating form, yes Li was an enigma.

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Well that part kind had EriolXSyaraon, but that wasn't my intention. I needed a way to get ride of Kaho (so the E+T fans can have their way) and I wanted Syaraon and Eriol to become better friends so it just kind of work out this way. Okay E+T will not show up till later sorry, however S+S will be either in the next chapter or the one after. Now for the time you have all been waiting for, REVIEW. I need major objective criticism, tell me what is good and bad, so I know how to improve and make the next part better.


	6. Truths come with Hope

A/N: Okay first off I should warn you that this chapter is short poorly written and probably the worst chapter yet. I had no idea of how to put this part into words so I just short of improvised. 

I'm sorry that this part is so late, firs off Christmas got in the way, then on the Christmas day my whole family got sick, I actually don't feel too wonderful right now, but I wanted to get this chapter done.

A/N2: this is the chapter everyone has been waiting for the revealing of the father. Anyway this part has mention of suicide rape and other not so nice stuff so now you are warned.

Disclaimer: I do **not** own CCS

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"Meiling! Meiling! Where are you? Meiling!" a young teen with worried auburn eyes yelled frantically into the night. He had been searching for his missing friend for some time now. The streets of Hong Kong seemed dead tonight. True it was very late and it had been raining off and on the whole day, but still the large city never seemed this barren. "Meiling!" the boy cried again as panic began to rise stronger in his heart.

He walked on quietly scanning his surroundings for a sing of the black hair, ruby eyed girl. The rain was starting to pick up again and the cold droplets fell like crest tears from above. The whole city seemed to be in sorrow tonight as the black storm clouds darkened the sky and the wind began to howl unmercifully. Li stopped and closed his eyes for a moment. His magical powers had grown immensely over the past couple of years, and he could now sense the presents of people without who did not posses magical lineage. Of course it took fare more concentration and it seemed to leave him a little drained but it was quiet and accomplishment for any sorcerer. After probing the city and its many inhabitants Li found the one he was searching for. She was on the outside of town and she seemed to be weakening. Li quickly woke from his trance and ran to where he sensed the fading presents of his friend.

As Li drew nearer to Meiling he began to panic, she was fading fast. Finally after rounding a corner he saw the young girl crumpled to the ground in a puddle of rain and her won blood. He quickly ran to her side and turned her body over pulling her head into his lap. "Meiling!" he asked with fear. To his relief however she was still breathing. Li looked the girl over closely, and then noticed the small blood stained dagger near her feet. His thoughts returned to the task at hand when a small whimper escaped Meiling's lips. He looked over the girl again as his mind began to think of options for helping her. There wasn't enough time to take her to the hospital or to call an ambulance. There was only one thing that could save Meiling's life now, and that was magic. Li picked up Meiling's cut wrist and cradled it in his left hand. He then placed his right hand over the large slash and pressed down slightly so as not to cause the girl anymore pain. Closing his eyes and relaxing his face Li's hands began to glow a light green. His faced tensed up as he felt resistance from the young teen he was trying to save. 'Why didn't Meiling want to be saved. Why is she fighting against my help?' Li thought to himself as he called upon more of his strength. After a few seconds he could feel Meiling's life force returning. She had given up fighting and simply accepted his gift of life. Li let go of Meiling's wrist. The cut had completely healed, however a scar would always remain to remind her of this night. Her breathing had returned to normal even breaths, instead of the long gasp she was taking moments before. 

Meiling's eyes began to flutter and then they opened to reveal frighten ruby orbs. "Meiling, why?" Li asked wasting no time with comforts. 

Tears began to form in her eyes as she slowly rose from Li's lap. She turned her head from his in fear. How could she tell him, he would probably just send her away like the rest of the clan wished to do. "Shaolan I am so sorry. I can't go back, I am so sorry." She brought her hands to her face and began to sob quietly.

Li moved closer to the girl and wrapped his arms around her, silently comforting her until her sobs died down. "Don't worry." he whispered into her ear. "Whatever has happened we will get through it together."

Li opened his eyes to the sound of soft coughing. He raised himself off his small pallet in the corner and went to the kitchen sink. He turned the rusted knob and brown liquid began to flow from the foisted. He waited a moment until the brown faded out and cool fairly clean water poured from the metal pipe. Filling a cup from the counter with the water he walked in to Meiling's small bedroom and handed her the drink. She accepted eagerly and quickly began to gulf the refreshing water down. "Did it help?" Li asked as Meiling finished off the contents of the small plastic cup.

"Yes thank you." She answered as she pulled her feet out from under her blanked and placed them on the ice-cold floor. After staring at the ground for a moment she turned her attention to the young man beside her. "Li do you think what Clow Reed said in my dream could be true?" she asked with hope shining in her ruby red eyes.

"Anything is possible Meiling. I don't doubt that the child will be very great, and I never doubt your strength in these times." Li smiled softly and was about to continue when a knock at the door interrupted. "Who do you think that could be?" Li asked as he rose from his seat to go answer the door.

As he got closer to the door he could feel three very strong magical auroras. He recognized them instantly. This wasn't good. He wasn't in the mood nor did he have the strength to handle Eriol, Sakura and Kero's interrogating. 'Maybe if I don't answer they will go away.' He thought hopelessly.

"Shaolan we know you are in there now answer the door or I will use a spell to blow it down." Eriol threatened from the other side.

Li ran a hand through his tangled hair. He knew he had to let them in, Eriol sounded determined, and if the reincarnated Clow wanted something done, well then there was no stopping him. He sighed in defeat as another threat was yelled out. He then walked slowly to the door. Studying the knob as though he could will in not to turn when he went to open the door. To his dismay the door opened and his eyes meet with very concerned blue eyes.

"All right Shaolan now we want some answers, what is going on." Eriol asked forcefully as he entered the small apartment followed by Sakura with Kero on her shoulder and Tomoyo close behind.

Li stepped aside as they pushed their way in. "Won't you come in." he stated sarcastically under his breath. 

Sakura studied the apartment they were in with confused eyes. "Shaolan I don't understand why are you living in this dump." 

"Because we have no where else to go." A soft, voice answered from inside the apartment.

The group looked to the direction of the voice and saw Meiling standing in a small doorway, she looked very ill and exhausted, but not nearly as exhausted as Li did. As the group stared at Meiling they tried to register what she had said. 

Li was already tiered and very annoyed with his 'guest'. "Why are all of you here? It's late and I would like to get some sleep." 

"Hey you listen here kid, I personally would rather drink sugar less tea then be here talking to you, but Sakura has some questions and you're the only one that can answer them." Kero shouted as he hovered in the air.

Li looked very confused so Eriol decided to clarify what the yellow guardian meant. "You see Shaolan, for the last couple of weeks Sakura and myself have been plagued with unusual dreams. Since we were unaware that we shared these dreams we both decided to keep them to ourselves. But today Sakura confided in me that she has been having very disturbing nightmares, after seeing the similarities in our dreams we have come to the conclusion that they are visions." Eriol explained as he stared Li directly in the eyes.

"What does your dreams have to do with me?" Li asked sarcastically, even though he was very intrigued by this news.

Sakura was still too stunned by Li and Meiling's home, so Eriol decided to answer this question as well. "Because they are about you." He stated almost darkly. 

Li was shocked, why were they having dreams about him. "What do you mean they are about me." 

As Eriol and Li stared at one another an uncomfortable silence fell upon the room. Meiling could sense the tension building up so she decided to brake the silence. First she moved from where she stood in the doorway of her room and sat in one of the chairs at the small table. "Tomoyo, Sakura won't you join me. I realize we haven't talked much since Shaolan and I arrived." She smiled and gestured for them to sit. The two girls looked at each other for a moment then decided to accept Meiling's offer.

"Why don't you sit down as well Shaolan." Eriol commanded.

Li thought it best not to argue. He had not eating all day and the lack of nourishment was begging to take its toll on him. 

"Now that we are all comfortable, Sakura please tell everyone here what you saw in your dream." Eriol instructed from where he stood leaning against the wall.

Sakura nodded and then closed her eyes as she began to recall her dream. "Well for the first couple of nights the dream was foggy, kind of like a hazy memory. I remember it being cold very cold, and there was a strange mist in the air that seemed to sting my skin. I remember it being dark; I was in a room. It was some kind of temple, and there were people there, sitting on a platform. They whispered amongst themselves, but I could never see any of their faces. Then some one else was there. A boy I couldn't see his face but I felt like I knew him. I could feel pain all around me. The boy he was in so much pain." Sakura paused for a moment. She had opened her eyes, but she only stared at the table. Tears began to form in her normally cheery emerald eyes. "I could never help the boy. I tried but I could never get to him. I could see the blood flowing from him, but he wouldn't scream. I could feel his pain, but no matter how much they hurt him he wouldn't give in. for weeks I whitish him suffer, but I could never help him, I could never see his face until last night." She looked over at Li with tears falling from her eyes freely. 

Li looked at Sakura's tear stained face, and then he looked into her eyes. So many emotions passed through her gaze that he felt he was going to melt. "Oh Sakura." He stood from his chair and walked over to where the young teen sat. Wrapping his arms around her he pulled her into a firm hug.

Sakura accepted and embarrassed Li. "Shaolan please tell us what happened." She begged as she pulled herself from his firm hold and looked into his face. He seemed uncertain, as if they would reject him if they knew the truth.

"Shaolan why don't you tell them. They are our friends and they deserve to know." Meiling's eyes were reassuring and Li felt that if she was willing to share these secrets then he should be as well.

Li returned to his seat a sigh escaping his lips as he began to recall the events, which took place a few months ago. "It began when one of the Li Clan's most respectable elders began to take an interest in Meiling…."

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"Take that!" a young martial artist, shouted to her opponent as she sent him flying. He hit the ground with a thump and the victor began to shout in triumph. "Yes, well Wang I guess girls aren't as weak as you thought." Meiling taunted cheerfully. 

"Very impressive. You have grown very strong young one. Soon you will take on a husband and bread powerful children for the clan." A middle-aged man with dark eyes black as night, and brown hair hinted with grey, sneered. To Meiling he would have seemed harmless enough if it were not for the way he looked at her. His gaze made her feel uneasy.

"Thank master I only hope to please the clan." She bowed respectfully to the elder and then dismissed herself.

The group listened to Li closely as he spoke. His voice sounding weaker as the tale continued. "As time went on the elder grew even more interested in Meiling. Until one day his fascination with her wasn't enough."

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"Why do you refuse? I am an elder in the council and I would make a strong husband for you. Take my hand in marriage and we could have the strength to rule the clan. It is your right to be the mistress of the clan as it is my right to be the leader." 

"Shaolan is the heir and I could not marry you. I do not love you." Meiling spoke gracefully. Over the years she had grown to be an elegant and strong young woman. Many in China desired her as their wife, for her strength and health could produce powerful children.

The elder grew angry. "You will be mine one way or another." He threatened.

Meiling was in a trance it was as if she was reliving these memories again. Sakura felt ill. She could never imagine that this could happen to someone she knew, sure she had heard of women being sexually abused on the news and such, but she never thought it possible to happen to one of her friends. "He raped you." She whispered sadly.

Meiling nodded in reply then spoke. "In our tradition a women must marry the one she losses her virginity to. He thought that I would come to him as opposed to being disowned. I kept the incident to myself and I isolated myself from the world in fear, but it didn't matter after a few weeks I discovered that I was pregnant."

Li decided not to share the fact that Meiling attempted to take her own life; instead he spoke of what happened later. "Meiling told me all that had happened. She asked me to help her but it was too late. When we returned to our home the elders knew that she was with child. The elder, which had impregnated her, went before his brethren and asked that they command Meiling to wed with him. The council agreed. When I learned of this I was ferrous. I went before the council and demanded that they punish the elder, but they refused. I continued with my demands, but it was obvious they would not listen. So before the wedding took place I went to help Meiling escape, but the council caught us. I was punished for disobedience. I refused to remain in the clan and so they disowned me and Meiling." Li stopped it was obvious that he was not going to continue and so Meiling decided to finish the story.

"We had no where to go, so we took what money we had and came here. We knew that we could find happiness here with all our friends." She said smiling slightly with the thought. 

"So Shaolan got a job and now he must provided for the two of you and mange his studies." Tomoyo concluded.

"It's not that bad, Meiling and I are doing fine." Li tried to reassure his friends. The group was silent for a moment until the sound of quiet sobs drew their attention towards Sakura.

"I am such a bad friend, you two are suffering and I was too blind to see it. Can you guys ever forgive me?" she pleaded hopefully.

"There is nothing to forgive Sakura, I should have trusted you guys with the truth. I am to blame not you." Li smiled at his long time crush with reassurance.

"Don't be so stupid Shaolan, it is my fault, and I am going to be a better friend for now on." Sakura stood up with determination and a new sense of purpose. "All right you guys get as much as you can carry, we'll come back for the rest tomorrow." Sakura commanded as she headed for the kitchen. The group just stared at her in confusion. "Well hurry up you guys it's getting late and I want to have you guys moved in before sunrise." 

"Um, Sakura what are you talking about?" Kero asked as he flew towards his mistress.

"Shaolan and Meiling are going to live with us." Sakura declared happily.

"What!" Kero shouted with shock. 

"Meiling can stay in the guest room, and Shaolan can stay in Touya's old room. He went back to his apartment yesterday, he was only staying while Yukito was in New York. I don't think he would mind, especially sense he doesn't even live there anymore." Sakura began to pull dishes out of the kitchen cupboard. 

"Sakura it's really nice of you to offer, but we don't want to be burdens to anyone. We'll be fine here." As Li stood from his seat he began to feel overwhelmed with weakness. He was about to fall when Eriol caught him, and allowed him to lean on him for support. 

"You're fine huh." Sakura stated with triumph and concern.

"Sakura is right Shaolan. You can't stay in this place, and you can't continue to work so many hours. Not even you can endure so many burdens at once." Eriol was very concerned for the young teen. One only had to look at him to see that he was ill. Fist off he was far to thin, you could see the outline of his skeleton very easily. Then there were the large black circles under his eyes, his skin was at least four shades paler then it's normal color, but the most obvious sing was his eyes themselves. Once bright and full of life, Li's auburn eyes were now lifeless except for the occasional shadows that would pass over them.

"You two are living at my house, even if I have to use the sleep card to put you to sleep and carry you out of here." Sakura threatened. "Now everyone start packing." And with that last commanded the group began to gather the contents of apartment up.

Li watched Sakura with a bittersweet smile on his face. 'It's good to have someone like Sakura, but I fear that her kindness to us will only result in pain for everyone.'

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Well that defiantly wasn't the best, cures you dreaded writer's block, cures you. Please review despite everything I would still like to try and get seven reviews on this chapter. I doubt I will but it is nice to hope. I hope you have enjoyed this fic so far and I hope to have the next chapter out very soon.


	7. A Day of Joy

A/N: Okay hopefully this chapter won't be so horrible. Anyway thanks to everyone who reviewed the last part, your reviews are greatly appreciated. Okay this chapter is mostly fluff and happy stuff so if you were looking for some angst there won't be much in this chapter. Also now we can finally start to see S+S and some E+T hints.

Oh I have been seriously ill for the past week so that is why this chapter took so long.

Disclaimer: Yes it is true I do not own CCS, because if I did it wouldn't be the cheery show with fun loving characters, so be glad.

'I don't think I have ever felt so at peace. In this house you can't help but have your spirit raised, no matter what the circumstance. I know that evil is growing that the time draws near when I will be forced to face my demons, face my past, but for now I just want to rest. I just want to revel in the contentment that is this house, that is the people who occupy it.'

"Hey Shaolan!" Sakura shouted as she entered Touya's old room, which now belong to Li. "What are you doing?" she asked as she tossed a few strains of her golden brown hair from her eyes.

"Nothing, just enjoying the peace." Li answered as moved away from the window he had been staring out a moment ago.

"Oh well if you want I can leave you alone." Sakura reluctantly replied.

Li smiled at the beautiful lady in front of him. "No don't go. I mean you can stay if you want to." He said blushing slightly because the words came out so clumsily. He walked over to the bed he had been sleeping in for the past two months. Yes two months that is how long he and Meiling have lived happily here.

Sakura joined Li on the edge of the bed, which only caused Li's face to turn a bolder shade of red. "Meiling's check up today went well. The doctor said we can expect the baby to arrive in a few weeks." Sakura informed Li. Meiling's pregnancy had gone very well especially with the help of Sakura and her father. 

Everything seemed to be doing well. Kero had adjusted to Li and Meiling staying there, and he and Meiling were now very good friends. She was spoiling him rotten by making him all kinds of pudding and pancakes every morning. Touya and Yukito would stop by often and help keep the house in shape. They both preferred being here over being at the collage dorm.

Eriol was over almost everyday. Normally he would just stay up with Li in his room. The two boys' had become very good friends over the past couple of months, though no one really knows why. 

But they are not the only two to form a strong relationship; Eriol and Tomoyo have been spending a very large amount of time together lately. When the two where not over here visiting, they were off together talking about art and literature. Their relationship really did fascinate Sakura, but she never tried to prive to see if they were more then just friends.

"What's on your mind?" Li asked after a moment of silence. Normally he would be content just to be in the presence of his young cheery blossom, but he was sure that she had come up here to discuss more then just Meiling's cheek up.

"Shaolan, do you think that we will ever be able to live normal lives?" Sakura asked turning her gaze away from the boy next to her.

"Well, what is normal? I have always lived with magic and secrecy, so for me that is normal." Li answer not fully understanding Sakura's question.

Sakura shook her head and then turned back to face Li. "I know we will always live with magic that is just a part of who we are. What I mean is are we ever going to live without fear. It all ways seems like we're waiting for something, like we're always on our guard because we're always expecting something bad to happen." 

"I don't know if that sense of warning will ever go away Sakura. We are magicians and with our power we have responsibilities, but I do know that no matter what happens, no matter what threatens us, we will face it together. And I will never let any harm come to you." Li wrapped his arm around Sakura and the two just sat. They didn't exchange words or glances they just enjoyed the presence of one another. 

+!+!+!+!+!+!+!+!+!+!+!+

"Shaolan will you please sit down!" Eriol shouted at the teen pacing up and down the hospital hall. His efforts were not rewarded, for Li would not sit down. Finally in a fit of frustration and annoyance Eriol waved his hand and suddenly Li was sitting down in a seat with a very confused look on his face.

Touya and Yukito's laughter lightened the mood a bit. "Man kid you need to learn to relax, I'm sure the baby only has one head." Touya joked. He didn't want anything to happen to Meiling or her child, but he couldn't pass up a chance to get under Li's skin.

Of course all his jokes earned were some stern glares from both Li and Sakura. "I still can't believe they won't let me in to see her." Li said while his eyes went back to the door of the delivery room.

"Shaolan no offense, but even if you were in there I don't think you would make a difference. You'd probably only make her more nervous." Tomoyo giggled slightly as Li blushed from her words.

"How much longer is this going to take?" Sakura winded. "I want to see the baby, it's going to be so cool having a baby at home." 

Soon both Sakura and Li were pacing up and down the hospital hall in anticipation. After an hour of walking back and forth Eriol was able to get the two to sit down. Yukito and Touya had left a few minutes ago for the hospital cafeteria along with Kero.

'What is taking so long? I hope that Meiling and the baby are all right.' Li thought to himself as he stared hard at the doors to the delivery room.

Eriol watched his young descendant with an amused smile plastered on his face. It wasn't everyday that you could see Li nervous. Normally he was calm and collective. "You know Shaolan the doors aren't going to open any faster if you have a staring contest with them." Eriol joked.

Just as Li turned his sight from the door it opened and a doctor wearing blue scrubs came out with a smile on his face. "It's been a long time sense I have delivered such a healthy baby. He is absolutely beautiful." The doctor announced as he ushered the group in.

When they entered the room Meiling was lying on the hospital bed sing quietly to a bundle of blue. She looked up to greet her guest, her ruby eyes glowing with a joy that had not been seen in her in a long time. 

Li and Sakura ran to her bedside and looked at the bundled up baby. "Wow, he's so cute! What are you going to call him?" Sakura asked as she beamed at the child.

Meiling smiled and looked upon the features of her new world. "I think I'm going to name him Clow." She answered quietly.

Eriol smiled at that. "Well I like it." he joked as the group began to join him in laughter. 

The group's laughter was interrupted by the sound of a scream coming for the hospital halls. Suddenly Touya came running through the doors with a look of pure horror on his face. "Guys you got to help me, she's relentless!" 

"Touya what did you do now?" Sakura asked annoyed. 

"Oh Touya!" the group looked up as the sound of a woman's voice came from the halls. Touya only seemed to freak at the sound of the voice. Soon the doors parted and a young brunet women enter the room with a little black cat creature on her shoulders. "There you are Touya!" she announced with triumph. 

"Nakuru what are you and Suppii up to now?" Eriol asked annoyed.

"Nothing Master, we just wanted to have Yue, Kero and Touya over for dinner." She replied with a wicked smile on her face as she walked over to the frantic Touya and garbed him by the arm.

"Well don't have them out too late." Sakura said with an evil grin on her face.

And with that Touya was pulled out of the hospital with Kero and Yue. Of course they all left under protest.

Li laughed to himself as he watched his loves brother being taken to diner against his will. 'Maybe this is a sing that things will get better. Meiling gave birth to a healthy child, and all of us will be at home within an hour or so celebrated the newest member of the Card Captor family.'

Perhaps Li's thoughts would come to pass, but who can tell. After all they are not the only ones that know of the coming of the child.

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Inhale, exhale. Well how did that chapter do? It's getting hard for me to put this into words, but I hope that you could still understand this chapter. Please review I really need some constructive criticism, I'm trying to improve my writing and I can't do that if I don't know what bothers people. All right enough of me, thanks for reading and I will try to have the next chapter out soon.


	8. A Mother's Tears

A/N: I am terribly sorry for how long this took. I just stared another class at school, and I just took on another job so my life has been very hectic. This chapter will probably be sort; I'm mostly writing it to let everyone know that I am still alive. 

Also I hope to redeem myself a bit with this chapter. Over the last two chapters I had an extreme case of writer's block, so I just wrote whatever I could think of.

Oh and to Evil Toughpreacher thank you so much for your insights. I will defiantly consult you if I ever try to write something like this again. Unfortunately I can't change too much of what I have already done without altering the actual plot line, but I will try to adapted some of the things you suggested into future chapters.

Disclaimer: I do not own CCS or any of its fabulous characters. 

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"Who's there?" Meiling called out to the shadows swiftly moving through the mist. She was in a clearing but all that could be seen was darkness and fog. Another shadow flew past her then disappeared into the endless depths of the mist. Sometimes she could see movement out of the corner of her eye, but when she turned to look all was still. "Sholan! Where are you?" she called as she squinted her eyes in an attempted to see through the ever-thickening fog.

The only sounds that could be heard were her own deep breaths, and the wind. The sound of the wind whistling as it blew through objects unknown comforted her in a way she could not explain.

She called out again, but when no answer came she decided to venture forward. To her it seemed the further she walked the more shadows there were. The shadows seemed to merge together till finally she walked so far that all around her was darkness. The sounds of the wind, her only comfort had died down leaving her feeling more _alone_ _then ever._

As she waited in eerie silence a feeling of overwhelming despair washed over her causing every muscle in her body to feel weak and bruised. She began to feel as though there was no escape from her endless solitude when suddenly the sound of a shrill cry rang out through the darkness.

Meiling immediately snapped to attention at the sound of the horrified cry. As another scream echoed through the fog causing Meiling's blood to freeze in her veins. Every muscle in her body tensed and her eyes filled with horror as she realized who the starling cries belonged to. It was Clow her newly born son. He was crying, screaming as though he were in pain.

It took only a second for Meiling to begin running towards the sound of her crying child. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her, but no matter how fast or how long she ran, the sound of Clow's cries came no closer. 

Tears began to form in Meiling's eyes, but she did not stop. Her legs began to tire and she felt that she could barely breath, but she would not stop until Clow was save in her arms. 

Why couldn't she find him? Why did it seem as though he was no closer then when she stared? Meiling found herself calling out to Clow, she felt as though she would collapse soon, but she couldn't stop. She continued to run in the direction of his voice, but to her horror the sound of her child only seemed to be growing softer, as though she were running away from him.

Suddenly the sound of Clow's cries cease. Meiling skid to a stop. She could feel her heart pounding on her chest, she could hear the blood pound on her eardrums keeping in perfect rhythm with her heart. She strained her ears trying to get past the sound of her own frantic breaths in an attempted to hear some clue as to here her son was, but nothing could be found. 

Tears now fell from Meiling's eyes freely as she wandered around the mist calling out Clow's name desperately. Finally after an eternity of searching Meiling fell to the floor and curled up into a ball weeping and calling out the name of her child.

Then as if to answer her quiet pleas the fog thinned out and before her was her child. It did not take long for Clow to restart his cries. Meiling pushed back her tears and tried to stand, but she couldn't. Her whole body felt like led. It took all of her strength and will to rise to a crawling position.

Clow's cries where increasing in volume and Meiling found herself calling out to him. All she wanted was to get near her child, to hold him and protect him, but her body wouldn't allow it. She crawled on the ground with all her might, but she drew no closer to her child.

Tears began to fall from Meiling's eyes once again. She continued to call out to Clow, her voice sounding more frantic by the minute.

Suddenly another figure emerged from the mist and stepped into the clearing. The figure was clad in all black; a mask of white face paint prevented Meiling from seeing who it was. The newcomer walked over to where Clow laid crying and picked him up. He shushed the baby with a soothing noise and then looked up giving Meiling a devilish grin. Meiling found her heart racing with fear. She called out to the figure begging him to leave her child alone, but the figure only chuckled quietly.

Meiling tried to crawl but she was not fast enough to reach the figure. He only laughed at her more mocking her for her inability to protect her own child. Meiling began weeping and begging the figure to leave her child but he would not. No matter how much she pleaded the figure showed no sings of returning her child. He then gave Meiling a long glare before turning in the opposite direction and walking off. 

Meiling began screaming at the top of her lungs, calling out her child's name as tears began pouring down her face, but nothing help, the figure had disappeared in the mist along with her child. She couldn't stop herself from screaming. Her mind felt numb, her body was tiered yet she still continued to crawl, she still continued to scream. She begged for anyone to bring her child back. To bring her reason for living, her joy back to her, but no one held pity on her. No one heard her cries. 

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Li's dreamless slumber was suddenly interrupted by the sound of Meiling's voice. She was screaming out Clow's name for a moment, and then the cries stopped and all Li could hear was quiet weeping coming from the room beside his.

He rose out of bed quickly and ran to Meiling's room, not bothering to knock when he came to the door. When he entered the room he was meet with a disturbing sight. Meiling sat in the corner of her room, her eyes were blood shot and her face was tear streaked. She held Clow tightly in her arms rocking him and singing something inaudible.

At that moment Sakura rushed into the room followed by Kero, both had worry plaster on their faces. Meiling didn't acknowledge any of them, she only continued to stare forward at nothing while singing a quiet lullaby. It wasn't until Li had bent down and placed a hand on her shoulder that Meiling broke out of her trance. She looked up at her friend, fear shone in her eyes.

No one spoke until finally Meiling whimpered quietly. "They are coming."

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Yes I know weird place to end this chapter, but I had to stop somewhere so I could get this posted. So what did you think about her dream? I got the inspiration from some of the dreams I have heard mothers talk about. Well did you think it was disturbing, corny, or just horrible all together? Please review and I will try to get the next chapter out much sooner then I did this one. 


	9. I Shall Find No Rest

A/N: we are coming to the end of this fic. I'm not sure how many more chapters there will be, but I know it won't be more then three. Well more angst, and lots more S+S and E+T. oh and some people wanted me to hook Meiling up with someone, so I am going to try and do that, but it probably won't be until the last chapter.

Oh and I must warn you I have never done any fluffy romantic stuff before, so if you find mine to be awful then please don't flame (I already know that they are horrible) but instead please tell me how I might improve on them. Thanks.

Disclaimer: I do not own CCS and unless we fall into so alternate reality which I control then I will never own CCS.

"Wow, Meiling really seems traumatized, that dream she had must have really affected her." Tomoyo said thoughtfully as she walked with Eriol.

"A mother's love is something very extraordinary, and the thought of loosing one's child could case horror in even the strongest person." Eriol answered as he turned his gaze to the beautiful young lady next to him.

Tomoyo noticed Eriol staring, but when she turned to meet his gaze he looked away blushing. She couldn't help but giggled lightly at his response.

"What?" Eriol asked confused.

"I have never seen you blush before." At this Eriol's cheeks turned an even darker shade of red causing Tomoyo to giggle even more.

"I'm afraid you have that effect on my dear lady." Eriol answered. Tomoyo stopped giggling and looked at Eriol questionably.

"What do you mean?" she asked not understanding what his words meant.

Eriol was forced to summon all the courage he possessed. He had it all planed out, ever word he would say was practiced and memorized, so why couldn't he remember any of them. "Well you see Tomoyo there is something I have been meaning to tell you." His words came out shaky and uncertain.

Tomoyo turned to face him with a look of confusion on her face. Eriol took a deep breath; there was defiantly no turning back now. "Tomoyo, I love you." Eriol finally blurted out.

Tomoyo's eyes went wide with shock. 'When did this happen? Eriol and I are just good friends.' Tomoyo thought desperately to herself. The whole world seemed to be spinning, but she couldn't tell if it was from excitement or confusion. She finally forced her eyes to focus again, but when she did she wished she hadn't. Eriol was still standing there with eyes full of pain.

'I was foolish to think she could ever feel the same. What was I thinking? Now I won't even have the pleasure of her friendship.' Eriol thought desperately to himself.

Tomoyo's mind was still racing. 'When did this happen? We some how became closer over the past few months, but when did his feelings change, how could I have missed it? Do I feel the same for him?' Tomoyo's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Eriol's angst filled voice.

"Tomoyo I am sorry. I don't want my feelings to ruin our friendship." He spoke slowly then stopped waiting for Tomoyo to reply, but when no reply came he began to feel desperate. "Tomoyo please say something." He pleaded.

Suddenly Tomoyo leaned forward and placed a small kiss on Eriol's lips. She then pulled away again, with a broad smile. "I love you too, Eriol." She whispered and then turned around and continued her walk towards school.

Eriol was stunned, his heart was racing and he could feel heat rising in his body. He wasn't sure if it was from the kiss or her words, but whatever the reason he stared jumping in the air yelling at the top of his lungs with joy. Tomoyo the maiden of his dreams loved him. He felt so unworthy and so happy at the same time. He just felt like running through the streets screaming that Tomoyo Daidouji loved him.

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"Sakura maybe you should go get some rest, I'm sure the world won't come crumbling down if you take one little nap." Kero told his mistress with concern.

Sakura only shook her head no and continued to read her schoolbook. Kero sighed in defeat he knew it would be useless to continue arguing so he sat back down and continued to munch on the cooks Meiling had baked the other night.

Both Sakura and Li had stayed up all night watching over Meiling and Clow, and it was now four in the afternoon. Li and Meiling went to bed hours ago. Li didn't get much sleep as it was and this interruption of his rest really didn't help. It actually took Sakura threatening to use the sleep card to get him into bed. 

The two still awake were brought out of their thoughts by the sound of a knock at the door. Sakura went to answer it and was greeted by the cheerful yet worried faces of Tomoyo and Eriol.

"Hey guys." Sakura greeted as they entered the house.

After they were all seated in the living room Tomoyo brought up the subject that was troubling all of them. "How is Meiling?"

"She cried herself to sleep last night, but that you already know. I'm not really sure what's going on, but I'm scared. I love Clow just as much as everyone else and I don't want to see him or Meiling get hurt." Sakura answered.

"Unfortunately I don't think that Clow is the Li Clan's only target. If I'm right then they will take Clow and give him back to the elder, but they will not be content with doing just that. More then likely they will try to kill Meiling, and Shoalan and they will try to take the Sakura cards to." Eriol announced his theories. He wasn't certain about all of this, but he did have a vague idea of what they will do.

"Well let them try whatever they want to, I'm going to make all of them pay for hurting my friends." Sakura proclaimed with malice radiating from her voice.

Eriol smiled slightly at this response. "Sakura, the members of the Li Clan are very powerful it will take all of us working together to defeat them." he answered trying to calm down the over excite girl. "And if you are going to defeat them then you will have to be at full strength. So why don't you go get some rest and Tomoyo and I will keep watch. After all you do want to be ready when the real fight comes."

Sakura stopped and thought for a moment before nodding. "You're right. I need to rest so when I do face those evil sorcerers I can beat them down." Sakura bid every one present good night before retiring to her room for rest.

Eriol had a triumphant smile on his face as Kero fluttered over to speak with him. "Okay spill. How on earth did you get her to go to bed, I've been trying for hours now." Kero demanded to know.

"Well my dear Ceroburous it is all on how you word it."

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They thought he was asleep and he really wished he was, but it didn't really matter if he was or not there was no way of forgetting the events that had transpired last night. He wanted to sleep, he wanted to just fall into an endless depth of darkness and rest, but his mind and his will gave him no such pleasures. He knew it wasn't over you can't escape something like this by simply running away. That was something he had learned along time ago.

They didn't know he was watching listening to ever word that was spoken. He was glad that Sakura finally went to rest and that Eriol was here. The reincarnated Clow was powerful and would help them in anyway possible, but that still didn't do much to ease his worries. He knew what they were going to be facing, and he knew what it will take to defeat it. 

He was strong much stronger then he had been letting on. His training had improved his skills much, but it was by his own will that he had gained the power of control. The Clan wanted strong drones, young worriers and magicians to do their every bidding, but he had learned a long time ago that in order to do the right thing he had to be his own master, he had to be the one controlling his powers and he had to cut the strings that the Clan had held on him.

Now at last the final stand was drawing near. The Clan would come, some of them were already here, and this would be the greatest battle of them all the destruction of the dark followers of Clow magic.

He, Shaolan Li will bring and end to this dark Clan even if it is the last act he ever performs. It was time to stop hiding; soon he would show his power to the world once again.

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It was getting very late, the sun had already gone to light other lands, and the moon had now high in the sky raining it's sliver rays upon all of Japan. Sakura still slept as well as Meiling, but Li had woken long ago and was now sitting with Eriol and Kero. Tomoyo had to go home hours ago due to curfew, and for that Eriol was thankful. He didn't know what was going to happen or if anything was going to happen tonight, but if they were attacked he'd rather her not be here.

"If they do come we will be greatly out numbered." Eriol thought out loud.

Li was too deep in thought to respond so Kero decided to answer. "They may out number us, but don't we have more power. After all you are the reincarnated Clow Reed, and Sakura has grown so much in her powers plus with Shoalon's help I'm sure we could beat them right." Kero liked to consider himself a creature of confidence, but after seeing the looks of distress from Eriol and Li, his certainty in the abilities to win began to fade.

"It's true we have great power, but I am only have of the reincarnated Clow, which means I am only at half strength, and even my full strength doesn't come near to the power of Clow. I would feel a little more confident if Yue were here, but since he, Fujitaka, and Touya are gone for the week we will simply have to make do." Eriol's answer didn't exactly instill confidence in Kero or Li.

"Out number." Li said quietly to himself. "We will defiantly be out number, and over powered, we will more then likely be over powered." Li seemed to be talking more to himself as if he were trying to solve a great riddle that had plagued him for years. "Even the most powerful have a weakness, and the clan's weakness is their pride. They feel that without a shadow of a doubt that they will rise victorious in this battle, but even if they do out number and over power us there is still a way to win." Li now spoke openly address the other two in the room.

Kero and Eriol looked at Li expectantly waiting for him to continue. "Clow Reed appeared before Meiling in a dream and told her that the power of the child will give us the strength to defeat the darkness. We must keep Clow save no matter what." Li was now determined, he wasn't certain what was meant to happen but he knew that if they follow what Clow Reed had said, and they stand to gather then there was no way that the Clan will win.

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Meiling was trying to sleep but it wasn't easy. She couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. She would pull the covers all around her and settle down, but then the feeling of a dark presence spread across her. She finally decided that rest would have to wait, perhaps the dream had made her paranoid, but whatever the reason she would not find rest any longer this night.

Pushing the covers off her in an almost defiant manner she stood from her bed and walked over to the crib were Clow, her child now rested peacefully.

Meiling stared down at her child smiling at the look of innocence of his face. He really was a beautiful baby with soft skin and deep brown eyes that sparkled whenever he was happy or content. Like most new borns he had very little hair, and what hair he did have was a soft light brown. Meiling loved her child, he was her world, a small ray of sunshine sent down to warm the hearts of all he meets.

Meiling left the side of her baby's crib and walked over to the window of the room. It was locked securely leaving the door as the only way in or out of the room. This fact gave Meiling a little comfort but not enough for her to shake the ominous thoughts running in her mind.

Suddenly the feeling began to grow and the room itself began to feel cold and fear. The cold only began to get worse and with it a fog began to feel the room. Meiling wanted to scream out but she still wasn't certain if all she was seeing was real. Instead she walked to the door. As she began to approach the door an overwhelming weariness filled her body. Just like her dream she began to feel weak she feel to the ground in exhaustion. Her eyelids began to feel heavier and heavier, she tried to scream out but all that came from her mouth was a small whimper, and with that she feel into unconcessness.

When Meiling awoke again her head was pounding. She opened her eyes for a moment then shut them tightly. Her vision was so blurry that it caused nausea in her stomach. She rolled off her stomach and onto her back. She tried forcing her eyes open once more. After a moment they seemed to adjust and her vision cleared. She then summoned all of her strength and forced herself off of the floor. Her mind was at a loss as she tried to remember what had happened and how she ended up on the floor. Then suddenly her eyes widened with shock and fear as she remembered what had happened before she clacked out.

With a speed unknown to man she jolted to her child's crib, a scream of horror and despair range from her vice as she collapsed on the floor once more in tears. 

Her greatest nightmare had come to pass, Clow her child was gone.

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Yes that is all for this chapter. Hopefully I will have the next chapter out sometime this week. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this one, sorry for the corny love seen, and the bad ending, but I wanted to create some suspense. So this was my attempt at a cliffhanger. Well please review every review is greatly appreciated.


	10. Eliminate the Darkness

A/N: There will be a lot of angst so if you're in the mood for happy joyful pick me ups then do not read this. Oh and sorry it took so long life is a pain. To everyone who reviewed you guys rock.

Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own CCS.

"Clow! Please I won't my child, bring back my baby!" Meiling screamed as Li and Eriol tried to hold her down. The young women was stronger then she looked, and in this state she was a danger to herself. Eriol and Li had come up as soon as they heard her screaming, but they were too late. Clow was gone and now Meiling was uncontrollable.

She kept screaming and fighting those who wanted to help her. Li had tried to calm her down but nothing seemed to work, the young mother was in a state of absolute panic, and that panic only fueled her strength. Finally Li was able to get her to stop struggling. Both he and Eriol let up their grip on her and she began to relax. Her screams soon died down to the sound of a whisper. Li and Eriol released their hold on the girl slowly. When it became evident that she was not going to through a fit again they backed away.

To Sakura Meiling looked dead. Her face was a ghastly shade of white, and her ruby eyes were lifeless. The usual sparkle that shown in the red orbs had diminished only to be replaced by fear and hopelessness. Her tear-streaked face was a place of torment and despair. At first glance it would have seemed as though Meiling was dead she seemed motionless, even the rising and falling of her chest with the intakes of air was not visible. Only her mouth showed sings of life for it was moving slowly as Meiling mumbled incoherent pleas.

This was too much for Sakura, she had lived a very sheltered life except for the adventures with the Clow Cards, and that was not nearly as dramatic as these events. This world of abuse and abandonment was so new to her, and the transition into it so quick that it had become overwhelming. She took one last look at the pain stricken mother crying for her child, and then left.

Li watched Meiling; a rage beyond any that his friends had ever seen was grew in his eyes. He clenched his fist at his sides till his knuckles turned white from the pressure. His breathing became long and heavy, and the malice that he had been containing for so long was now radiating for his every move.

Eriol watched Li with fear and anticipation. His young descendant's aurora had never felt so strong before, nor had he felt it be filled with this much anger. Whatever Li intended to do was not going to be pleasant. Timidly Eriol walked over to where Li stood and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're not alone, you know that don't you." Eriol said quietly showing his support in whatever Li chose to do.

"I know." Li answered just as quietly, though his voice was filled with determination and rage. "Kero." He called without looking back.

"Yes?" Kero responded, respect evident in his voice. Li's now powerful aurora seemed to demand respect and instill fear, something that neither Eriol nor Kero had ever expected.

"I want you to watch over Meiling. Protect her no matter what, and whatever you do don't let her leave this house." Li commanded and then without waiting for an answer he turned and left the room.

Eriol followed quickly after and stopped to watch as Li entered his room and shut the door behind him. He was glad that Tomoyo wasn't here, she had reluctantly left about three hours ago due to the fact that her mother wished for her to return home. 

Sakura's soft footsteps ascending the stairs brought Eriol out of his thoughts. "Where is Shaolan?" Sakura asked as she peered over Eriol in the direction of Li's room.

"He's in his room though I'm not exactly sure what he is doing. All I know for sure is that he is going after Clow, I plain on going with him. The Li clan is very powerful, and he will need all the help he can get." Eriol answered.

"Well then I will go too. You two will need the help of the Sakura Cards. I'm just glad that Tomoyo isn't here, she'd have me in some crazy outfit by now." Sakura joked trying to lighten up the mood a little.

Eriol laughed lightly at the thought of his love's hobbies. "Yes, I am glad she is not here as well, she is safest at home." 

The two magicians were interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing. Sakura ran down the steps quickly to answer it while Eriol walked casually behind. When Sakura opened the door she was greeted by a camera and an outfit still wrapped in a plastic cover.

"Hey Sakura, I'm glad I caught you." Tomoyo's sweet voice chided. "I thought you'd be gone by now." she entered the house and began to lay out her stuff as both Eriol and Sakura stared at her in absolute confusion.

"Um, Tomoyo how did you know we were about to leave?" Eriol asked with confusion.

Tomoyo giggled and then gave them a sly look. "Don't tell me you haven't looked outside, it's worse then when the Thunder Card showed up." As Eriol and Sakura ran to look out the window, Tomoyo began unpacking her gear. "Okay Sakura you had better hurry up and go change before we leave." Tomoyo stated as she handed her friend the outfit that she was to wear.

Sakura looked at it in disbelief. The outfit was a pair of tight leather pants, a thick silver belt with a light pink star engraved in the center, black boots with sliver buckles, a tight black shirt with a sliver ring about the neck and stomach which was exposed, and black gloves that expose the fingers along with two sparkling body tattoos of light pink stars for her arms. To top all this off there was a long black velvet cape with a hood and a light pink satin liner.

"Wow Tomoyo this is nothing like the other outfits you use to make me. Way the sudden journey down the dark side?" Sakura asked as she stared at her new black attire.

"Well for one you are older now so I thought a change would be nice. Two black will help you blend in with the darkness of night, and three is that executioners should look a little darker then Card Captors." Tomoyo explained as she began working with some other items.

"Executioner?" Sakura asked confused. "I do not want to be an executioner." She whined the thought of going out with the soul purpose of destroying a life never entered her mind before this moment.

"Come on Sakura, no one said that this job would be easy, but it is your job nonetheless. You are a magician and with that power comes some dirty work. Besides it is your destiny to help Shaolan destroy the bad descendants of Clow Reed." Tomoyo argued back.

Eriol laughed inwardly at his new love's wisdom. "Tomoyo is right Sakura, if you want to help save Clow then you will be forced to fight and maybe even kill members of the Li Clan, but if you don't want to go through with it it's okay. We will not be angry in the slightest." Eriol didn't want the young girl who still held so much innocence to go into this battle unless she absolutely wanted to. "And anyway I think that that outfit will look absolutely stunning on you." Eriol added smirking at the glare he received from Sakura.

Sakura took her clothes and went up stairs to change. Once she was gone Tomoyo came up to Eriol grinning mischievously. "So you really like the outfit I made for Sakura." She asked grinning still.

Eriol nodded his head. "Yes it was perfect for this action." He answered truthfully but with slight humor in his voice.

Tomoyo's grin grew even bigger as she handed Eriol an outfit she had been holding behind her back. Much like Sakura's costume, this one consisted of black leather pants though not nearly as tight as Sakura's, a sliver belt with a golden sun engraved in the center, black boots with no buckles, a long sleeve black shirt, and a black leather blazer.

Eriol looked at the outfit then back at Tomoyo then back at the outfit again. "What is this?" he asked confused.

"Well since you liked Sakura's outfit I thought I'd give you the one I made for you. Now hurry up and go put it one." Tomoyo ordered as she ushered him away. Eriol tried to protest but was pushed in the bathroom before he could utter a word. 

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Meiling still slept and Eriol had just got done explaining to Kero what they planed to do this night. Now Tomoyo, Sakura, and Eriol waited in the living room for Li.

"Shaolan certainly has been up there for a while what is keeping him?" Sakura thought out loud.

"What I want to know is what he plains to do." Tomoyo added.

"I plain to go hunting." A familiar yet dark voice answered from behind. The group of three turned around to see Li standing at the top of the stairs. He was clad in an outfit similar to Eriol. Black leather pants and boots along with a silver belt with a green wolf head engraved in the center. A tight black shirtsleeve muscle shirt clung to his upper half, and black biker gloves were on his hands. A black leather trench coat moved with him gracefully as he descended the stair. Held in a case latched to his belt rested an ancient Chinese sword. An object that he had carried since he could walk; yet it was the most alien thing he bore.

Sakura stared in awe at the young man she knew so well yet seemed so strange to her. The sparkle of light and compassion had vanished from his eyes, and his face seemed stern and unforgiving.

Eriol's voice broke through the uncomfortable silence that had settled upon the room. "How exactly do you plain to find the Li Clan, Shaolan?" he asked obviously expecting to see Li in such an unforgiving state.

Li smiled a slight gleam entering his eyes as he held up an object that none had expected to see. "With this." he answered as he showed the group what he held.

Sakura couldn't hide her surprise, she had thought that Li was forced to leave behind all objects of his past, but now here he stood holding his sword, and the lasin board.

Li held the board before him and began to chant softly in Chinese. At his commands the board began to glow a light green suddenly the light intensified and consumed Li's form, and then Li began to absorb the light and soon both the board and the light were gone. Li now stood there with his eyes shut tightly; slowly he lowered his now free hands and opened his eyes. To the amazement of all Li's eyes were now glowing a bright green. He stared at each watcher closely and then blinked when he reopened his eyes they were back to beautiful amber.

Before the others could speak Li started walking to the door. "I know where they are follow me if you can keep up." He said not looking back or waiting for them to answer. 

The group quickly got up and followed Li, not certain to where he was leading them.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Sakura leaned against a tree as she watched their leader move in and out of the shadows of night. She was amazed at how much Li had changed. The sweetness and gentleness that she had come to love in him had completely vanished, and was now replaced by hatred. She was frightened and intrigued by the sudden change that the young man had undergone. She just hoped that they could get back Clow and that everything would go back to normal.

The small group had walked to a forest on the outside of town. Li continued to lead them through a clearing in the middle of some large and withered looking oak trees. Eriol walked slowly behind him watching his surroundings closely. Following after him was Sakura who was looking around nervously as though she was afraid that a ghost might pop out of no where. Tomoyo trailed the group, moving so quietly that it was almost impossible to tell she was there. As she followed she recorded every movement in the woods with her new night vision camcorder. 

Li paid little attention to the others, his mind was set on one purpose finding Clow, and eliminating the Li Clan once and for all. He was no longer afraid to show his power nor was he worried about-facing his family. He had once loved them they were after all his kin, though it was never the kind of love that Sakura had for her father or Tomoyo for her mother it was a love nonetheless. He could never honestly say that he had trusted them, but he was devoted to them, and would probably still hold devotion to them if it were not for Sakura, for she had taught him what true love and compassion were. After he had returned from his adventures with her he became aware of the Clan's treachery, and after they hurt Meiling they lost what little devotion he still held for them. Now that they have taken Clow they will see the extent of his betrayal, and will pay with their lives.

Sakura, not being able to take the unsettling silence any longer, spoke her voice echoing through the woods. "How long do you think it will take us to find them?" she asked fear in her voice.

"Oh believe me child it will not take long." A female with a low and haunting voice answered.

The group turned around quickly and saw a tall woman with inky black hair and a painted white face. Her eyes were black as night and her voice sent shivers down Sakura's spine.

"Hello mother." Li said coldly with an odd smirk on his face.

Yelan laughed cruelly. "Why do you smile son? Were you hopeing to fall into a trap?" She asked amused.

As she spoke these words figures clad in robes of black emerged from the shadows. Sakura began to feel frightened, while Tomoyo simply crept into the shadows and continued taping.

"I suppose you are looking for the infant, well he is not here, but I will be glade to entertain you instead. Especially since you seem so pleased to see me." Yelan smirked as the black robed figures moved closer into the clearing.

Li smiled and then drew his sword. The blade seemed to be glowing as it reflected the sliver rays of moonlight. "You being here saves me the trouble of hunting you down." And with that Li began attacking the robed figures.

The figures also possessed swords and were quite gifted in using them. The figures continued to appear and it wasn't long before Li was facing a multitude at a time. He would slaughter one and then two more would appear in its place. The clattering of swords made Li aware that Sakura had called upon the Sword card and was now facing the corrupted magicians and worriers. Eriol had called upon his staff and was now using it as well as a powerful spell to dissolve his opponents.

The battle continued for some time and soon it seemed as though an army was upon the small group. Li called upon his inner power drawing as much strength as possible. His sword began to glow a bright green and as opponents would slash at him, he would hit them with a powerful blow slicing their swords in half. Then he would attack ramming his sword into the chest of his enemy. It wasn't long before his sword and body was dripping with the blood of his opponents. The crimson liquid seemed to seep into his skin and burn like acid.

Finally with a strong battle cry Li sliced into his last opponent decapitating him. He looked over to see if his friends were all right. To his relief all the attackers had been destroyed. It seemed that the Clan focused most of the attack on him.

As Li looked around he realized that there was one opponent that he had yet to face. "Where is my mother?" he asked looking amongst the dead corpse to see if she lied there.

"It looks like she's gone." Eriol answered. "But I don't think we're done yet, I sense more powerful auroras coming in this direction." 

Li looked at Eriol sternly. "I most not let her escape." He said simply.

Eriol nodded his head in understanding. "Go we will take care of these new attackers." 

Li took off into the woods using the power of the Lasin board to track down his mother. Once he was gone Eriol and Sakura got in fighting stance, waiting for their true opponents to arrive.

As the powerful auroras got closer Sakura peered into the shadows. "Well here we go."  


+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Will Sakura and Eriol be able to handle the most powerful members of the Li Clan alone? 

Will Li get his revenge?

Will Meiling simply sleep while her child's life in on the line?

Will I ever get a good paying job (probably not)?

Okay so I have a morbid sense of humor. Well what did you think? I no it took a long time to get out but hopefully it was good. Oh by the way I think the next one will be the last chapter. 


	11. through the shadows and into the light

A/N: well here it is the last chapter. I want to thank everyone who has reviewed this fic; your reviews are what keeps me in the fanfic business. 

This chapter will have gore, and graphic fight scenes (well as graphic as I can make them). Also be prepared for some S+S and E+T at the end. Well on with the show.

Disclaimer: yes I still do not own CCS.

'Is it possible that she finally went to sleep?' Kero thought to himself as he studied the young woman lying in her bed. Oddly enough Meiling had not objected to being left out of the search for her child. Perhaps it was that fact that kept Kero staring at her motionless form. Meiling wasn't the type to simply give in, so why did she willingly stay behind. Kero couldn't help but believe that the Li Clan had at last destroyed the young wearer's soul, that was the most frightening thought going through his mind.

He fluttered over to the window and peered out. The night was black; darkness was the only thing to see. Darkness that blanketed everything in eerie shadows. The crescent moon hung high in the sky and the small rays it produced were swallowed by the darkness of night. The storm of lighting and wind that shook the earth earlier had passed, and was replaced by stillness.

Kero forced himself to look away from the almost hypnotic darkness, and turn his eyes back to the young woman resting in her bed. But when he looked to where Meiling was suppose to be lying he found her staring at him. She was now sitting on the edge of the bed with an impassive expression on her face. He thought it odd that she was able to move without him hearing her.

Kero found himself being locked into Meiling's powerful gaze. When it felt as though he could hold her stare no longer she spoke. "The others have left haven't they." It wasn't a question; Meiling knew the others had left, but Kero still nodded his head in reply.

As Meiling continued to stare at the tiny guardian Kero found fear rising in him. Meiling had changed just as Li had. Her face was now emotionless, but her eyes held a rage that could not and would not be contained much longer. 

Sensing Kero's uneasiness Meiling smiled wearily then rose from her bed and approached him. Kero fluttered up higher so he could meet the tall women's eyes. This was an action that he ended up regretting, for when he looked into Meiling's eyes he found nothing. The rage had vanished and she seemed almost calm.

"Kero." Meiling whispered drawing the guardian out of his wonder. "I'm kind of hungry is there anyway you could make me some soup?" she asked her face not changing from it's expressionless state.

Kero was a bit surprised by the request, but he thought it was understandable. Meiling hadn't eaten all day, and to someone like Kero, who felt if he missed one meal the world would come to an end, going a whole day without eating can really mess you up.

"Okay, but you go back to sleep and I'll bring it up as soon as I'm done." Kero instructed.

Meiling nodded her head shyly and went to lay back down in her bed. Once Kero saw the young woman get settled in her blankets he fluttered out the door and headed to the kitchen.

Meiling listened as the sound of Kero's wings flapping grew fainter once she could no longer hear them she pushed the cover off her body once more and got out of bed. Once she was out of her bed it seemed as though a transformation had occurred in her. She no longer slouched in fear nor did she lower her head but she now stood tall and proud her head held high showing her fair face, which was stern and unforgiving. Her eyes seemed to almost change in color; they went from an enchanting ruby, to a malicious scarlet the color of blood flowing from deep wombs. They were also cold and unforgiving like a storm in winter. Their frosty gaze cold freeze even the bravest of souls.

She looked around her small room until her eyes fell upon Clow's crib. She walked over to where her baby should have been resting. Looking inside it tears began to form in her eyes, the salty droplets burned as she allowed two to fall down her checks. Her hand slowly rose to wipe the tears away, but she stopped half way and looked at them in disgust. There were the scars upon her wrist, though they were faded she could still see them. The marks of her pain and sorrow. She would always bare them even if they faded away from human sight the memory of that night would always be there to remind her of her suffering. She was tiered of suffering; she was tiered of being a victim in this war of hate and terechary. 

She turned from her child's crib and walked to her closet. Searching through the articles of clothing almost viciously until she spotted what she was looking for. She pulled out an outfit of black and leather. Smiling to herself she quickly changed from the ragged T-shirt she was wearing into the outfit that Tomoyo had given her only days ago. The outfit was a tight black leather miniskirt, thigh high black leather boots with sliver buckles. There was a tight black spaghetti strapped shirt that showed Meiling firm muscles perfectly, along with two body tattoos in the shape of crimson tears. A large black leather belt with a crimson tear engraved in the sliver buckle hung loosely around her hips. And lastly there was a long black velvet cloak, with a deep crimson satin liner on the inside.

Once she was satisfied that her garments were straight and sacure Meiling returned to her closet and pulled out a large wooden box that had been hidden under piles of clothing on the floor. She opened the box and looked at its contents with a sadistic smile. She had been force like Li to leave ever item of her past behind with the Clan, but like Li, Meiling wasn't very good at following orders. She reached in and pulled out an ancient Chinese sword still held by its leather shaft. This sword had been her fathers and was the only item of his that she still possessed. Taking the sword she attached the shaft to her belt and then stood. The hood of the clock was drawn of her face and gave her the look of a phantom.

She walked gracefully over to the window and then opened it. It was time for her to go on her own hunt. She did not need magic to find her child, and she most defiantly did not need help. She would show no mercy to Clow's kidnappers. Hell's fury shall have no comparison to the wrath she will bring upon those who keep her from her child.

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

The Li Clan was now upon Sakura and Eriol. They attacked in full strength not hesitating, nor easing their attack. Eriol held his staff tightly in both hands. He could feel sweat accumulating on his brow as he blocked another attack. The attackers were relentless. Eriol was strong and far more powerful then the combined strength of two of his attackers, but that did little good sense the odds were much higher then two against one. 

He could feel three swordsmen lunging for him from deferent direction. Knowing he couldn't block all the attacks at once, he chanted softly. At his command his staff began to glow an eerie red, he lifted the glowing staff and then brought it back down hard. The ground shook as energy spread through it. The energy rose from the ground and entered the bodies of all the attackers near him. The moment the energy swept through them, they burst into flames. Screams of agony could be heard ringing through the night sky as over half of the Li Clan burnt alive.

After Eriol was done with his spell he dropped his staff and fell to the ground in exhaustion. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was Sakura battling hard against her opponents.

Sakura watched as Eriol fell into unconsciousness. The spell he had used took all the strength he had. Now she was left to battle their remaining opponents. Suddenly Sakura screamed out in pain, as she grabbed her left arm tightly. One of her opponents had broken through the Shield Card while she was distracted. She looked down at her arm to see red liquid flowing from where the sword had pierced her.

More of her attackers were beating on the shield, Sakura knew it wouldn't hold much longer. Gathering her strength she pulled her hand away from her injury and tightened her grip on the mystical sword she held proudly in her hand. 

As the shield began to brake Sakura took a deep breath gather her will she shouted out to her attackers. "I don't care how many of you there are, I will fight and destroy each and every one of you. If any of you try to run I will hunt you down, and the punishment you receive then will be even greater then what I can deliver tonight. So come and get me!" her threat seem to startle her opponents for a few seconds, and that was all she needed. She took her sword a slaughtered the enemy closes to her. The sword ripped through his flesh and he fell lifeless to the ground.

Seeing this the others resumed their attack upon the shield card with even greater strength. This time the shield broke leaving Sakura venerable. The Li Clan laughed at her gleefully for to them victory seemed near, but Sakura simply stared at them hard, with a malicious smile on her face. 

The thoughts running through the young Card Mistress' mind were of battle and justice. 'These are the people that hurt Shaolan and Meiling. These are the people that took Clow, and for that these people will pay.' With those thoughts to guide her actions and fuel her strength Sakura began her on slot of the Li Clan. Cutting down each reachable opponent with agility and speed, Sakura wielded her sword with great skill. Finally only one opponent remained. Sakura's eyes were on fire as she summoned the rest of her strength and pierced her remaining opponent in the heart. 

'At last they are all destroyed.' She thought as she fell upon her knees. Dropping the sword she laid her face in her hands and wept. She hide her eyes so she wouldn't have to look upon the mutilated of corpses that laid about her. As she sat amongst the dead she cried, she cried in anger, fear, and relief. Her part was finally over, she had full filled her destiny and now she wanted to rest.

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

The night began to grow cold; clouds passed over the moon, moving with the wind and casting shadows upon the earth. The hour was late and all residence of the town were resting peacefully in their warm beds. Each snuggled in their blankets dreaming of the wonderful day to come or living some fantasy that could only be true in a dream. 

To Meiling this was a dream, it was just like all the others she had had. The moon dime, the air cool, and the world silent, that was her dream. Silent and cold absent of life, for how could there be life without her child to love. Clow had been stolen from her by a cowardly thief. Just like the fables of old, a thief in the night takes all good children from their mother's arms, but unlike the fable there will be no hero. There will be no strange wandering man to come and rescue the child from Satan's grip, this time the mother shall slay the devil and retrieve her baby. This time the mother will be the victor.

Meiling didn't need the lasin board to find her child; she knew where he was. She could find Clow even if he were in another world. He was close, very close. She could almost picture him, his smiling face and bright eyes. 'I will get my child back.' The young mother thought to herself as she continued to walk through the dark allies of the town. Her black cloak causing her to merge with the shadows, as she walked quietly through the forsaken paths on the outskirts of the town.

As she walked with the stealth of a cat, the feeling of her child's presence grew stronger. She looked around the many backdoors leading to abandon buildings. In one of these decaying structures was her child and the thief who took him. She studied each door as she passed by them silently; none of them lead to her child. Soon she found herself at a dead end with only one door left. She approached the door and laid her hand on it lightly. After a moment she pulled her it away and stared at the door as if to accuse it for helping to keep her from her child. Clow was in this build she was sure of it, but how many others were with him could not be told.

Meiling took a step back and drew her father's sword. Griping the sword tightly she slashed it at the door. The ancient blade sliced through the old door as if it were cutting through cake. Meiling walked through the door leaving the dark and gruesome allies for the dark and decrepit building. She began to walk around, allowing her eyes to adjust to her pitch-black surroundings. She stumbled through the alien rooms searching for her child. The dead silence of the building was begging to frighten her, she couldn't help but feel that she had chosen the wrong building, or perhaps she was wrong altogether and Clow was no where near here. These thoughts of doubt caused grieve to rise in her heart. She must have been mistaken Clow wasn't here, she had failed him.

Suddenly a soft cry broke through Meiling's feelings of doubt. It was Clow her child, he was here. Meiling followed the sound of Clow's cries until she came to another door. Clow was just beyond it; Meiling took a deep breath preparing herself for whatever awaits her on the other side.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

"Sakura!" Kero shouted through the woods. He couldn't believe he had been tricked so easily. Meiling had deceived him, and then took off. 'Boy am I in for it, Shoalan is going to kill me the moment he finds out Meiling has run away. He'll probably take that sword of his and remove my head.' These thoughts kept circling Kero's mind as he desperately searched for his Mistress. "Sakura!" Kero shouted again, and this time was rewarded with a faint reply.

Kero flew in the direction of the small voice and found Sakura sitting under a tree, her arms wrapped around her knees, which were pulled to her chest. "Sakura, are you all right? What happened?" Kero asked with concern. 

Sakura didn't answer; instead she waved her arm signaling Kero to look around. As Kero turned his attention from his disturbed Mistress he became aware of the multitude of dead bodies which laid about the clearing. Looked to the right of Sakura, Kero saw Eriol lying a bit further down while Tomoyo looked over his wombs. "Looks like you guys had quiet a night." Kero commented as he turned back to Sakura.

Sakura didn't answer Kero instead she decided to gather some information from him. "Where is Meiling?" she asked almost duly.

Kero immediately snapped back to reality, as he remembered why he was there in the first place. "Meiling ran away, I can't find her anywhere." He almost shouted in response as panic began to return to him.

Sakura stared at Kero her eyes dull. Kero was about to repeat himself when a soft voice answered from behind. "Of course she ran away, you didn't honestly expect Meiling to just sit around while her child's life was in danger did you?" Kero and Sakura looked up to see Tomoyo with Eriol leaning on her for support.

"But Tomoyo, Meiling doesn't even have magical powers, so how is she going to fight against one of the Li Clan's strongest members?" Kero argued back. He had grown very fond of Meiling of the last couple of months, and the thought of her hurt or maybe even killed was very troubling for him.

"Meiling will be fine, she is a lot stronger then you think Kero." Eriol added supporting his girlfriend's words.

"I'm more worried about Shaolan, he is going up against his own mother, and she is the strongest member of the clan." Sakura whispered from where she sat starring at the ground.

Eriol smiled sympathetically at Sakura, he knew how much Li meant to his heir. If something were to happen to him then Sakura would never forgive herself, and she would never move on. 

Eriol kept pleading in his mind for Shaolan's life. 'I hope you're all right Shaolan, Sakura needs you. We all need you, you must win this fight.'

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

It could have been considered a normal night in the forest, after all everything was the way it always was. Most creatures were snuggled in their nest or dens resting up for another day of foraging. The nocturnal creatures in the forest were scavenging or playing in the few rays of moonlight that pierced through the trees. That was common for a forest, but what made the night so unique were the two figures running through the trees at great speed and stealth. One figure had taken to the air and landed on the branch of an oak tree. Now the first figure jump from branch to branch like a crazed imp moving through the trees as though it were its natural habitat.

The second figure remained on the ground. Clad in all black it moved through the canopy of the forest merging with the shadows cast by the large trees. The figure never seemed to disturb twig or leave. It never once resoled noise on the forest floor, or hit the ground hard enough to make a sound. If one had been watching from a distance it would have appeared as though the figure was floating, but sense no one was there to see no assumptions of sprits in the woods were made.

The figures continued their mad chase until at last they came to a clearing in the center of the large forest. The first figure gracefully leaped from the branch it stood upon and landed lightly on the ground. It then ran a little further into the clearing before turning around to face it's opponent.

The second figure entered the clearing only seconds after the first. After studding his opponent close and making sure she would not try to run again, he drew his sword and stood in a battle ready position. "No more running, face me and we can deiced once and for all the future of the Li Clan." The second figure challenged.

The first figure, a female with long inky black hair and fierce eyes looked upon her opponent and then laughed. "My dear son, do you honestly think you can win a battle against me? And even if you could, do you think you could bring yourself to kill me when it's over?" Yelan asked as a twisted smile formed on her lips.

The first figure didn't budge, his eyes narrowed upon his opponent as he answered. "Don't call me son." Was the only response Yelan got. 

Li charged at his shocked mother, taking his sword and aiming for her chest. Yelan quickly drew her sword and blocked the attack only moments before it hit. In a swift motion Yelan drew back and swung her sword aiming for Li's neck. Li ducked and then brought his leg up kicking Yelan in the knee. She struggled backwards then took one of her hands pulled it into a fist and sent it flying. Energy came soaring out of her fist and hit Li hard in the chest. At that moment Li fell backward from the force of the blow. He placed his hand on his chest and then pulled it away; crimson liquid ran down his fingers and dripped to the ground.

Yelan approached Li reading to attack again; she sent another ball of energy flying towards her son. Li jumped up quickly and kneeled on his knees, he then crossed his arms in front of his face just as the energy hit. Dust went every where and Li's form was not visible through the cloud. 

Yelan smiled satisfied that she had completed her job, but as the dust settled she found nothing. Li was not there; not even a limb of his body remained to assure Yelan that her son was truly dead. After a moment of staring she convinced herself that Li was simply weaker then she had thought and that her attack had obliterate his body along with his pathetic life.

"You always were a bit of a disappointment." She sneered as she turned to walk away, but once her eyes shifted to what was in front of her she received a shock. There Li stood only a few feet away from her. One hand was still griped at his chest, as blood continued to soak through his shirt. The other hand was also dripping with crimson, Yelan's blast of energy had been mostly stopped by Li's shield, but some of the power broke through and burnt and sliced Li's wrist and hands. Tiny crimson droplets where splattered upon Li's face and caked in his hair, the droplets almost seemed like tear drops of sorrow sprinkling down upon the pure heart of this young worrier.

Yelan was shocked not only to see her son alive, but also to she that the loss of blood didn't weaken him at all. His eyes were still narrowed upon his opponent and his hands were still ready to kill. Yelan griped her sword and sent it flying at her son with a startling cry. Li ducked and the sword flew over his head and landed at the edge of the clearing. Li then dropped his sword and charged at his mother with his fist. Yelan tried to get away but Li grabbed her by the neck and held on tightly. Yelan was too shocked to move she just stood limply as Li griped her by her neck.

"Where is Clow mother?" Li demanded.

"I don't know where the babe is but even if I did I won't tell you!" 

At this Li's grip tightened on Yelan's neck, cutting off her air supply for a few moments before he loosened again. 

"What's the matter son? You can't even handle the simple task of killing me. You know you want to, you're no different from the rest of us, blood thirsty, power hungry. Eventually fighting your enemies wont be enough for you." Yelan saw Li faultier for a moment, but then his eyes returned to their stone cold gaze. "Well go ahead son snap my neck, kill me. You know you want to." If she was going to die she was at least going to make sure that Li suffers as well.

Li looked at his mother hard then tightened the grip on her neck. Yelan choked and squirmed for a moment, then Li let go and dropped her on the ground. "I am nothing like you. Killing you would only be pity, the rest of the clan is destroyed, and you have nowhere to go. Go live, live with the shame of knowing that you are weaker then I." Li picked up his sword and was about to walk away, but before he did he turned back to his mother and held his sword at her throat. "One last thing, if you ever come near someone I care about again then the pain you put me through will seem like mercy compared to what I will do to you." With that finally threat made, Li began to walk towards the forest.

Yelan stared at her retreating son with fire and grieve in her eyes. She watched as Li entered the shadows of the trees and disappeared. He was right she had nowhere to go. She had betrayed her son, and was too weak to return and rebuild the clan. Her purpose in life was no more. 

With a shaking hand she drew out a Chinese dagger that was concealed behind her robe. Taking one last look to where her son had disappeared she brought the dagger up to her chest and thursted it into her heart. Immediately dizziness began to kick in, with two shaky hands she drew the dagger out and then fell completely to the ground. As Yelan lied there feeling her life flow out of her she looked one last time to where Li had left. "Good by my son." Her faint whispered died down with her breathing and then she was gone.

In the forest Li hung his head low, his eyes were still fierce, as he knew justice had won, but his heart was grieving. "Good by mother, may you rest in peace." And with that Li walked off in search of the others.

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

Meiling's stomach was in knots as she turned the doorknob to the room where her child was being held. The soft cries from her infant were slowly dyeing down. Meiling opened the door and walked into the room quietly. She looked around her eyes shifting from every asset in the room till at last they rested upon a wooden table that was low to the ground. Upon the table laid her child wrapped in a bundle of silk clothes. Meiling rushed over to where her child was, as tears began to stream down her face. She picked up her baby and held him tightly to her chest, weeping for joy that she at last had him back.

Meiling was so overwhelmed with relief that she didn't notice something moving in the dim light of the room. A figure dressed in Chinese robes walked silently to where the mother held her babe. "What a pleasant sight." 

Meiling immediately turned around to see the owner of the mocking voice. Her eyes widened in fear as she took a step away from the man before her. She clutched Clow close to her chest and turned to run out the way she came. When she got to the door she had entered the room through, she found that it had been shut and locked.

"There is nowhere to run my lovely young maiden." The voice laughed at the desperate mother trying to protect her child.

"I won't let you take Clow away from me!" She screeched as she backed into the wall. There was nowhere for her to run, no way to escape this mad man and save her child.

"Clow?" the man repeated thoughtfully to himself. "Interesting choice for a name, but I have no objections. It is only fitting that my son be named after the greatest magician of all time." The elder man smiled then approached Meiling again.

She ran to the opposite side of the room and laid little Clow down. He had fallen asleep in his mother's arms and was now resting peacefully, oblivious to the danger in the room.

"He is not now nor will he ever be your son!" Meiling shouted as she drew her fathers sword from it shaft and prepared for battle.

"Dear woman I do not want to fight the mother of my child. Clow is mine and you should be too. Be my wife, Yelan and young master Shaolan will surely destroy one another. Once they are out of the way we can rebuild the clan to our liking." The man's voice was soft; he could have seemed gentle if it were not for the gleam of treachery that flashed within his blazing eyes. 

Meiling shock her head for a moment, the man's voice had placed her into a spell but she could now see what he truly was. "You must be madder then I thought, if you believe I would ever return with a wretch like you!" Meiling's eyes were on fire with the desire of battle. It didn't matter to her that she possessed no magic, this crazed man had given her the will to defeat anything.

The man drew his sword and swung aiming for Meiling neck in an attempt to decapitate her. Meiling brought up her sword to block it, then brought the sword around and slashed the man's face. She cut the man's left eye causing blood to flow out of the womb. The man shouted in anger and thrashed his sword into Meiling's heart.

Meiling screamed out in shock and pain as she fell to the ground. Her breathing became heavy as her pierced muscle drained out her life.

The man stood over Meiling's body with a triumphant smile, sneering as the young mother took her last breaths. Meiling's eyes began to grow heavy; she fought with all her remaining strength to keep them open. She wanted her child, she wanted to hold him but she knew she could not. If she could never hold him again then she at least wanted to see him one last time. Straining her eyes she looked to where her babe slept peacefully. 'Good bye Clow.' She thought wishing with all her will that he could hear her. 'I love you my child.' With these last thoughts circling her head Meiling's eyes shut and all life left her.

The man watched the woman he at one time loved, pass on and leave this world forever. In his crazed and demented mind he had told himself that he had done what was right. Meiling was the mother of his child, and if she didn't want to be with him, then she didn't deserve to live. With this argument in his head the man turned to retrieve his child from the corner where Meiling had laid him. 

When the man went to pick up the infant he found that Clow was awake and starring at him with accusing eyes. The young baby's face was harden in anger, and his bright eyes were glowing with rage. The man stood immediately and backed away from where the child was lying. Suddenly Clow's eyes faded from the soft brown that could melt even the coldest of hearts, to a frightening crimson. The red orbs began to glow so bright that you could almost feel heat coming from them. The heat of a blazing fire or intense furnace was raging in this babe's eyes. Suddenly the glow from Clow's eyes began to fill the room, lighting every dark corner with an eerie glow from his glare. The red glow seemed to almost turn into a mist or an impenetrable fog as it began to sift and move towards Meiling's fallen form. Then in the most unbelievable sights the crazed man had seen, Meiling's lifeless body began to absorb the crimson until none of it was left behind. 

Slowly Meiling's eyes began to flutter then they opened, her chest began to rise and fall as she took deep breaths like one just waking from the longest rest. Shakily the young women rose to her feet, and picked up her fathers blood stained sword.

The crazed elder watched in amazement and horror as Meiling moved to a fighting position. "How did you do that, it is impossible you were dead!" the man shouted as he griped his sword in fear.

Silence fell upon the room as the man stared in confusion, and Meiling glared in cold hatred. Suddenly the sound was broken by gleeful laughter coming from Clow. The child cooed and giggled, as though he knew all the answers to the universe, and kept everyone a secret. 

Meiling smiled at her delightful child then shifted her eyes back to her opponent. "Well if I am dead then you may call me a ghost." Meiling took her sword and thrust it into the man's right arm. She then smiled maliciously as she yanked it out hard. The blow brought the man out of his shock and he took his sword and slung it at Meiling left side. 

Meiling back flipped into the air missing the attack and gracefully landed on the table where Clow was first found resting. The man in a fit of rage charged at Meiling with his sword aiming for her stomach. Meiling moved out of the way and the man's sword hit the table and was stuck. Meiling placed her left foot on the sword preventing the man from drawing in back. She then took her blade and held it at his neck.

The man coward away slowly. He had never thought that this fragile you woman could defeat him so easily. Meiling smiled triumphantly, but her eyes remained solemn and cold. "You took my child, took my life so now I am going to take yours." The man tried to run but Meiling chased after him. The elder man turned around just in time to see Meiling's blade connect with his neck.

Meiling sliced through her opponent's neck cutting off his head in one swift blow. The man's head fell to the ground and rolled a few feet away from his fallen body leaving a trail of blood behind it. Meiling stared dully at the decapitated body before her, and then turned to retrieve her now sleeping child. She returned her father's sword to its shaft and picked her child up smiling at his peaceful face. 

'Now little Clow we can both have peace.'

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

'Peace is what Meiling wanted, and she got her wish. The darkness of the Li Clan was at last destroyed and peace was at last a reality. The battles were hard and it took us time to get over the fact that we had ended lives, but our conscience are clear and rest comes easy to us. Magic is still a great part of our lives and always will be, but it is no longer the thing that defines us. 

Tomoyo pursued her dream to be a fashion designer and is now one of the most renowned labels in the world. She and Eriol were married a little over a year ago, and are now expecting a child of their own. Eriol decided to get a real job so he could support his future little girl and Tomoyo. He is now a lecturer at the university where Mr. Fujitaka works. Even though most of his students are younger then him they show him great respect.

Sakura is now going to collage on a full scholarship; she is studying to be an archeologist just like her father. Me, I have had enough with history and ancient secrets, I want to spend the rest of my life learning the secrets of life and enjoying its many wonders. I'm not exactly sure what I want my career in life to be, but I'm still going to school on a full scholarship. And I've made a decision, tonight when I take Sakura out I'm finally going to ask her to marry me. Of course if I don't Eriol said he would put a spell on me that makes me ask, what a friend.

And as for Meiling and Clow I have a feeling that everything will go good for them.' 

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

"Okay Clow run through those kicks again." Meiling ordered her son with a smile. The five-year-old was so eager to learn what his mother had to teach, and Meiling was happy to take Clow away from Kero for awhile. Yue was beginning to complain about to the pranks the two were pulling on him.

"Hey mother look!" Clow's voice broke through Meiling's thoughts as she looked to where he was pointing. New neighbors were moving in across the street from the Kinomoto residence. One of the new neighbors was a young man, who looked American. He was staring at Meiling from across the street. 

Meiling glared back at the young man then waved him over. He blinked almost as though he were awakening from a trance and then slowly walked over. Once he was over Meiling looked at him closely. He was tall and well built with blue eyes and brown shaggy hair.

"Do you have a problem?" Meiling asked once she was done studying the young man. Clow watched his mother closely smiling to himself.

"Um… no I just ah, couldn't help but notice you teaching this boy martial arts." The man blushed a bright red and he spluttered out the words.

Meiling smiled to herself as a thought entered her mind. "This boy is my son Clow, and yes I was teaching him martial arts, well what little bit I know that is." she smiled at the man sweetly. He seemed nice defiantly someone see would want to get to know a little better. "Um do you fight or anything?" Meiling asked sweetly.

"Oh yeah I have been practicing for a couple years now, I've won a few trophies and stuff. By the way my name is James" The young man bragged.

"Meiling." Meiling's smile grew bigger; the guy spoke perfect Japanese so communicating was easy. "Well would you care to sprawl?" she asked innocently.

The guy smiled. "I couldn't. If I hurt you I would never forgive myself." he said honestly. His attraction to Meiling was showing strongly through his tones.

"Oh come on it will be fun I promise." Meiling said seductively.

The man thought for a moment then answered. "Okay but I will go easy on you." He said as he centered himself on the mat and prepared to have a friendly fight with Meiling. Clow could be heard laughing lightly to himself as he watched the fight begging. Two seconds later James was on his back onto of the mat.

His face began to turn red as he looked up at the smiling young woman before him. "You've done this before haven't you." He stated dully.

Meiling smiled then nodded her head yes. Clow was laughing historically at the sight. "That was fun James we must do it again sometime." Meiling mocked good naturally as she turned and walked into the house with Clow.

James stood up breathing heavily; his face was a picture of shock. "I' going to marry that girl." He vowed to himself as he lifted the seen.

The fist chapters of the Card Captor's adventures where filled with fun, grieve and surprises, but the next chapters would truly be ones to remember.

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Okay I wasn't very pleased with the ending, but some people wanted Meiling to end up with some one so I decided to put the last part in. well I am greatly sorry about the delay, but I had testing at school so studying and rest came first.

Well it's over; my first CCS serious is over, I hope that is was enjoyed. As always please reviews, constructive criticism is always welcomed and appreciated.


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